The Legend of Zelda: Definitive
by Ryebone
Summary: The definitive version of the Legend of Zelda, taking parts from most the Zelda games and making the story elements work together. There is a strong focus on A Link to the Past. Rated R mostly for descriptive violence and a bit of language.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1

Prologue

According to ancient mythology, three gods created the land of Hyrule; their names were Din, Nayru and Farore. Their purpose for creating the world will never be known and indeed, it cannot be proven that they did exist in the first place. The only reason that they are known is through the ancient scrolls, which can only be found in Hyrule Castle's library.

In the Hylian scrolls, Din was the goddess of power, Nayru was the goddess of wisdom, and Farore was the goddess of courage. The three goddesses descended from a distant nebula and using the earth as their palette, created along with the land of Hyrule, the entire planet and its creatures, as the Hylians know it today. Din, with her strong flaming arms, cultivated the land to create the various landforms and terrain of the earth. Nayru, poured her wisdom into the earth by creating science and wizardry, which brought law and order to nature. Finally, Farore created all life on the earth through justice and vigour

It is entirely unknown as to when these monumental events took place, and for how long. Some of the Hylian elders are keen to say that the goddesses came but only a few thousand years ago and spent but a few days, while some scholars are quick to dismiss this theory and provide their own. The scholars' theory is that the goddesses came millions, if not billions of years ago, and the actual creation took thousands of years to complete. It was a great source of debate, but it was never the source of conflict: all parties agreed that this was a truly magnificent series of events, and the Hylians put aside two days a year to celebrate all that is well.

As the three goddesses finished their business, they left behind a symbol of their strength: a golden triangle known as the Triforce. Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that the Triforce was actually composed of three, smaller golden triangles that were said to contain a tiny portion of each goddesses' power. The purpose of the mighty Triforce was clear: it was to guide the intelligent life on the world.

According to more legend, the Triforce was said to have the power to bestow three titles which gave the person who received them great powers: "The Forger of Strength", "The Keeper of Knowledge", and "The Juror of Courage." But it was this simple verse from the book of Mudora that received the attention of everybody:

_In a realm beyond sight,  
The Sky shines gold, not blue.  
There, the Triforce's might  
Makes mortal dreams come true._

Indeed, it appeared that the Triforce would grant the wishes of whoever controlled it. Obviously, nobody could pass this opportunity up, and many brave souls would attempt to find the so called "Golden Land" so that they may find the Triforce. The exact location of the Triforce was lost over ages; some said it lay under the desert, others said it was deep within the mountains. Only one thing remained certain to the Hylians: that the Triforce lay in the land of Hyrule somewhere. After many generations, only the greedy would attempt to find the Triforce, as the majority of the people would stop believing in the golden triangle altogether.

The Hylian people have a long history, as they seemed to be chosen by the three goddesses who created the earth. Other races across the land did not hold similar beliefs, and as such, would avoid the Hylians for the most part. The Hylians controlled a massive continent, and at the very center of it lay the land of Hyrule. Many great rivers led through and nearby the kingdom, so as to provide a fresh source of water from the surrounding seas. After many generations, other races began to appear and take up residence on the great continent, but they were few. Indeed, not much was known about the lands past the great sea. More recently, the Hylians migrated towards the center of the giant land mass, into the safety of their kingdom walls. They were only concerned with themselves, and word was rarely received from parts past the kingdom walls.

The Hylians were a relatively short race; their height rarely reaching above six feet. They were loyal, hard working and friendly. The most unique aspect of the Hylians in their physical appearance was their ears: they were long and pointed, sticking out from the sides of their heads various lengths, depending on the person. These long, pointed ears were said to enable the Hylians to hear special messages from the goddesses. And as such, they held themselves in high esteem, as no other humanoid race on the earth appeared to benefit from a similar attribute.

After many centuries, a gang of thieves accidentally opened a gate to the Golden Land where the Triforce lay. The gang was lead by Ganondorf Dragmire, who had an affinity towards the black arts, earning an exiling from the Hylian people. Ganondorf would gather thieves with similar interests and practice the black arts that were so feared by the Hylian people. Magic had not been known in the history of the Hylian people until Ganondorf used it so viciously; however, to fight him and his followers, wizards broke out the ancient scrolls and knowledge themselves in various arts. These men would come to be known as the Wise Men.

The Golden Land was a mystical area that did not physically exist in the same land as Hyrule. Indeed, it seemed to be an alternate, running parallel of the land, but nobody could be quite sure. The gate that was opened lead Ganondorf to the Triforce. In his lust to lay his hands on the golden triangle, he would vanquish every single one of his followers who also perused the Triforce. In future years, he would go under the name of Mandrag Ganon, which means Ganon of the Enchanted Thieves. Even further on, he would simply be known as Ganon.

I – Forest Home

There are a number of races on the continent, such as Goron, Zora and Gerudu, and then there are, of course the race with the long, pointy ears, always referred to as Hylians. The Kingdom of Hyrule encompasses a hefty area of land, but it used to be much larger. On the continent of Hylia, Hyrule now accommodates a very small portion of the very centre. Indeed, as years and generations have passed by, the Kingdom has shrunk significantly in physical size, yet the number of Hylians in the Kingdom has been growing slowly every single year. As well, the peoples that live inside the Hyrule walls refer to themselves as Hyrulians.

Great, magnificent walls once surrounding the old Hyrule now lay in ruins; the great forts now lay in waste, and the wall has been broken in many areas. It is clear where the wall once zigzagged across the land, avoiding certain dangerous terrain and using rivers, hills and mountains to its advantage. The earth has swallowed portions of the wall, creating steep cliffs and new habitat for creatures that prefer life in the dark trenches of the earth.

Old Hyrulian military forts have either fallen into disrepair, or have been inhabited by a group of people or creatures. Many of the forts and strongholds are now home to a settlement of Hylians who did not care for life so close to the new Hyrule, or to those farmers who wish to take advantage of the rich soil surrounding the military installations. The forts were usually built near flowing water, making it a great location for settlements supporting a large group of people.

On the northern half of Hylia, the wall remains almost entirely intact for a very long stretch. The Old Northern Wall, as it has become known as, was home to the most number of military installations, and the largest. With the abundance of fertile soil and flowing rivers and streams, the Old Northern Wall was the perfect place for most settlements, as it fit the needs of everyone. The new settlements also took advantage of the well traveled paths along the wall, so that they could reach other settlements and groups very quickly; they did not have to build their own road system, as it was already there. Communication and travel could occur very fast; faster than it could anywhere else on Hylia.

The south-east section of the Old Wall was in by far the worst condition. In most areas, one could not even tell that it had existed there at all; in all the other areas, the wall could only be discerned by sporadic groupings of rocks, rocks that lay in piles. The extremely tall trees are most responsible for the destruction: their giant roots going deep and far across the land, penetrating the wall and straight through it, so the rocks would crumble, fall apart and be more susceptible to erosion brought on by the elements.

Since Hyrule was located in the very centre of Hylia, it became easy to measure distances, as long as one was measuring it in respect to its position from Hyrule. The most common unit of measurement was how long it took to travel, by horseback, in one day. The Hylians, never being in a rush, would travel at a leisurely pace, which became incorporated into the de facto traveling measurement unit. If one was in a hurry, a trip that would be classified as four days could be completed within two and sometimes one day, if the traveler was in a rush and knew the secrets of the land. The mappers of Hyrule made it official that a trip from coast to coast, east to west, would take the average Hylian ninety days.

The new Hyrule wall encompasses a much smaller area; in fact, if one were to go by the mappers unit of travel, it would only take two days to travel from east-wall to west-wall. The castle of Hyrule (referred to as Hyrule Castle), contains the Hyrule Royal Family and is not that big. It is located near the new north wall, simply called the North Wall. Very close to the South Wall are the villages, containing the homes of Hylians who wish to live in the safety of Hyrule's great walls. The walls themselves are extraordinarily tall and steep; no Hylian has been able to successfully climb them, and going down them is equally as bad. A few soldiers every year fall to their deaths peering over some of the higher sections. Of course, there are more villages containing civilian Hylians throughout the Kingdom, but they are mostly located in the south. Forts are plentiful, and are located along the wall with few hours travel between them. The new Hyrule walls are almost impregnable; their only weakness, one could say, are the massive gates at each compass location. Only four gates exist that allow all traffic to and from the Kingdom. They are located due east, south, west and north. The north gate is rarely used, and generally not open to the public.

The gates themselves are heavily guarded by Hyrule's finest; they are closed every night, opened every morning and always watched. The new wall has never been attacked.

Directly south-east of Hyrule Kingdom lies a small, inconspicuous log house. The area is densely wooded, composed of trees reaching in heights of over one hundred feet, their trunks extremely thick and their leaves providing a dense ceiling, keeping the ground cool even on the hottest days. A large area was cleared for the house, but the trees did not move far: they were used in the building of the house, and in the creation of a wooden wall, surrounding just one quarter of the property. The house's main door pointed south, and but a few feet from the porch was a sheer cliff; the cliff wound around the other three quarters of the property. A very small fence was put up on the edge of the cliff, to stop anything from accidentally rolling or falling over into the shadowy depths below.

The cliff face was composed almost entirely of rock, but numerous tree roots emerged in search for more soil, only to find none. Trees at the bottom of the cliff were similar to the ones on the top, and their tops barely reached the top of the cliff, suggesting that if one were to fall over the side, they would fall for over one hundred feet. Looking out the front of the house would provide a magnificent view: there were no rogue trees protruding from the forest ceiling, so that one could almost mistake it for a very large, flat field of deep green leaves.

A number of small gardens in the northern side of the property grew various fruits and vegetables; beside them, a small shed was sitting quietly, full of tools and chopped wood. The house itself was nothing special to look at: it was a log house, with three or four windows on each side. The eastern side of the house had a chimney, rising about twenty feet in the air, allowing a passage for smoke to escape.

Upon entering the front door of the house, one is greeted with a large, open room. On the right was the chimney, of course with a large fireplace. Over top the fireplace hung a brilliant blue shield, and a short sword with matching blue hilt. On the left was a kitchen area: a large sink and numerous cupboards. The thick floor tiles of the large room were most noticeable in the kitchen, where a small table with three chairs surrounding it sat. Three small couches surrounded the fireplace, each with an end table, and a thick bearskin rug lying underneath them all. Looking straight across from the front door was a wall, with three doors. The furthest right of all the doors led to a large bedroom, while the farthest left door led to a smaller bedroom. The middle door led to a bathroom of sorts, with a small tub and sink.

In the south-east corner of the large room was a magnificent desk carved from the same trees that were used for the walls of the house. Sitting at the mighty desk was a short man; he was scribbling away on a fine piece of parchment. He wrote slowly, and every so often, would dip his quill in the small jar of ink he had sitting at the top of the desk. He stopped writing his letter, and began to read it to himself.

The sun had finally set, casting the house in darkness. The old man sat back in his chair, slowly reading the letter he just penned. Deciding to take a break, he looked over at the numerous candles he had lit just an hour ago. They were the only source of light in the house now that the sun had gone for its rest. He looked over at the main door, as if expecting that something should barge through at any moment. Staring for well over a minute, he pulled himself back to the paper he was reading, and continued to check his work.

An owl, obviously not too far from the house, let out a loud screech. It was the only sound in the forest this evening.

"Aye, almost done, my friend," the man said slowly. He continued to read the letter, and in the process, stood up. He was a short man, about five feet and three inches, and he was well built. His name was Aegis. He had a big, thick greying moustache above his lips, and greying hair on the sides of his head. His long, pointy ears were not what they used to be: indeed, in his old age, the tips of his ears were beginning to sag a bit, and overall shrink in total size. Thick, black hair grew on his muscular arms. Obviously a man who was extremely muscular in the past, his body was now home to less defined features and a large gut. However, for a Hylian who had just reached the age of sixty, he was still physically intimidating.

Setting down the paper, he leaned across the desk and pushed open the window. Sitting on the fence overlooking the cliff was a large owl, staring directly back into the newly opened window. The owl gave off a hoot, and if the man didn't know any better, would say the owl gave him a dirty look. The owl stood an immaculate three feet tall; with massive talons gripping and cutting into the fence.

Suddenly it looked over to its left, searching for the source of the sound it just heard. Lifting its giant wings into the air, the owl carried itself quickly to the window ledge where the man inside sat looking on. The owl was far too big to fit through the window, but it did indeed stick his head in. With jerky movements, the owl looked obviously down at the letter, then back up at the man.

"Patience! There is still more I must write." Aegis picked up the quill and dipped it in the ink jar. "You never give me enough time," Aegis said, trailing off. The owl almost looked impatient, but quickly, it fell backwards and flew - not too far - away. "Give me but three more hours!"

The front door opened. "Link! It is wonderful to see you!" exclaimed the old man.

"Uncle! I'm sorry I'm so late..." The young man who just entered the house is revealed to be the old man's nephew. He was about seventeen years old, give or take one year. Link stood close to six feet, and had a head of brilliant golden hair.

"Ah, you need not worry, Link." Aegis stood up, pushing his chair aside. He quickly opened a drawer in the desk and slid the letter into it. "I am just glad to see that you made it home alright."

Link put down the bag he had slung over his shoulder, and began to take off his boots. "Well, umm, school was running a bit late, you see."

"Horse turds!" Links' uncle cut in, "you can't tell me those youngsters were actually willing to stay late on the last day of the week, eh?" Aegis made his way over to where Link was standing, and put his arm around the boy. He began to lead him towards the fireplace, so that they could sit.

Link chuckled a bit, as his excuse was easily exposed as being untrue. Today was the last day of the week, it was true, but it was more special than that. Next week, the schools were giving the children the entire week off in order to celebrate the Coming of Agahnim. Hyrule Kingdom would be abuzz with activity to celebrate; merchants from across the continent would come, the circus would put on acts and fairs complete with rides and games that would run all week long. It was a week where very little was accomplished in the Kingdom, as Hylians of all ages, descent and trade would come to celebrate.

"You got me, uncle." Link slipped from his uncle's hand, and made his way to the kitchen. His uncle looked at him go, his big smile fading to a slight frown, and his bushy eyebrows drooping at the ends. He then looked over to the window he had opened, and saw that the owl had made his way back to the fence. The owl was staring intently into the house; he wanted that letter. The windows were then closed.

As Link fixed himself a drink, his uncle asked him where he had been. The school was located in Kakariko Village, which was only about a day's journey from the house. Link was usually able to do the trip in about eight hours, after finding some shortcuts. School would have gotten out early today, so Link should have been home two or three hours before sunset.

"Oh yes!" Link exclaimed, "I went to Lon Lon Ranch and grabbed some milk." He looked over at his uncle, who was not impressed. "It's, uh, real fresh today!"

"Boy, you don't need to keep lying to me." Link looked a little worried. "We have plenty of milk for the rest of the weekend, and besides, I don't see any bottles you brought in." Aegis sat down at one of the couches, and pulled out his faithful pipe.

Link, with a cup of water in hand, came over to the fireplace and sat down in the couch facing his uncle. He didn't say anything; instead, he got up and put another log on the fire that was slowly burning itself out.

"So, how long has it been since you two began dating?"

Link shuffled his feet; he was slightly embarrassed.

"You're a grown boy, Link, and I don't think you need to be sneaking around anymore. If you want to go out there and see her, you can go anytime."

Link looked up at his uncle. "Are you abolishing my curfew, uncle?" Link asked excitedly.

"Well," Link's uncle looked around. "I know how much Marin means to you, son. I'm impressed that you have followed my rules so loyally over the year, including your curfew. It was always for your own safety, I guess. The woods out here can be a dangerous place, especially lately."

Link sat back in his seat, smiling. For as long as he could remember, he had to be home before dark every night, unless he was staying somewhere safe for the night. Lately, he had to stay in Kakariko Village at the inn, as his duties at the school became more numerous and time consuming.

"You are a grown man. Indeed, you are a man now, and I should start treating you like one! You can stay out, do what you want, as long as I know where you are. I don't want to be sitting here, by myself all worried all the time." The truth couldn't be farther away: Link's uncle was extremely trusting in Link's abilities now that he had become older. He had trained him well in the art of sword fighting and archery; Link could take care of himself if he got into any trouble. He had never been worried about Link before.

"Uncle, you're the best!"

Link's uncle continued to smoke his pipe, knowing that Link would not disappoint. He looked into the fireplace and watched the fire dance. "Just take care of Marin. Treat her right, and you will live your life a happy man."

Link finished his water and smiled, choosing not to say anything to his uncle, as it looked as though he was deep in thought. What was on his mind now? He stood up and announced that he will retire for the evening. "Are you going to come to the fair with us, uncle?"

There was no response. Aegis continued to stare into the fire and ignore Link. Link brought his bag into his bedroom, the one on the left, and proceeded to get ready for bed.

"I don't know if I will be able to make it Link. You and Marin should just go on without me."

"Alright. Good night, uncle!" Link was not surprised that his uncle would not go out. He had become wary of traveling, in his old age. He was very comfortable living in his forest home, away from the busyness of life around Hyrule Castle. The week of the fair would give him time to rest and be alone, Link thought. He closed the bedroom door and fell asleep quickly.

Aegis remained in the main room for some time; he continued smoking his pipe and brought out the letter. Sitting down at the desk, he brought out the quill and scratched out some of the text he had written. He wrote out another couple of sentences, and then quietly opened the window.

The owl outside was sitting on the fence, eyes closed. Only an hour had passed since the window was closed, and the owl had apparently decided to have a sleep. Not a noise was made, but the owl quickly opened his eyes and immediately focused on the old man.

"Kaepora Gaebora, you must learn some patience!" Aegis whispered. The Kaepora Gaebora flew over to the window ledge, and peered in with his giant, round eyes.

"I have patience, sir, but when it comes to matters of such importance--"

"Whatever!" Aegis cut in sharply. "Now here is the letter that her majesty so desperately wants." He picked up the paper, rolled it and tied a ribbon around the centre, to hold it together. He held it out towards Kaepora.

"Thank you, friend." Kaepora clutched the scroll in his talon and went to make off, but Aegis continued to hold onto the scroll. "You are making the right decision, you needn't worry yourself."

Aegis looked down at the desk, and over towards Link's bedroom door. "You are the wisest of them all, Kaepora, I hope you are right." He paused, thinking. "But should something--"

Kaepora cut in quickly, and looked at the old man sternly. "DO NOT worry yourself, I can guarantee all will be well." The old man let go of the scroll, and Kaepora began to fly away. "We shall talk again, old friend." And the great Kaepora Gaebora was gone, into the night sky.


	2. Kakariko Village

**_II – _****_Kakariko_********_Village_**

The sun rose early in the morning, bathing the land of Hylia in a beautiful light. In the forest of Link's home, the sounds of birds chirping could be heard. The ground was wet with dew from the night before; the temperatures at this time of year drop dramatically at night, only to rise quickly throughout the day.

Light poured through the window in Link's bedroom; the window was left open, and the wind coming through was flapping the dark curtains. About an hour after sunrise, Link awoke from his deep sleep, and began his morning routine. After preparing some hot water, Link bathed, dressed, and then ate some breakfast. Usually some toasted bread with the special jam Marin had made him in the early summer. He washed it down with some fresh water from the well in the yard, and proceeded to head outside. There was no sign of his uncle in the house, which was quite abnormal, as his uncle was always up, either writing or smoking his pipe in front of the fireplace. He noticed the sword and shield that normally hung over the fireplace was gone.

The smell of wet grass struck Link as he opened the door and took the first steps onto the front porch. Marin had been quite keen on planting some colourful flowers in front of the house, and they were beautiful to look at. Link bent over to smell a yellow flower, as it most reminded him of the way Marin smelled when they were together. But, the sound of grunting pulled Link away, to investigate the noises.

Upon turning the corner of the house, he saw his uncle wielding the sword and shield, thrusting his body around a wooden pole that the two of them fashioned together for them to practice on. The pole was thick and marred with gashes and chunks missing, from the repeated blows it took from the swords. Various smaller poles stuck out at different spots on the main pole, in varying heights.

Aegis grunted as he twirled around the pole and thrust his sword against the wood with all his force. "Uncle!" yelled Link.

Link's uncle stopped at once from hearing Link's voice; it caught him by surprise. "Link! What are you doing up so early?"

"I have to head out to Kakariko Village, remember? Some of the older children want to practice their sword techniques a little more before the long break." Link walked closer to his uncle, who was sweating, and breathing hard. "How long have you been out there doing this?"

"Not long enough." His uncle replied coldly. He was obviously angered about something, but Link didn't want to ask directly. "I'm getting old, boy, this is getting rough. Look at me! I'm more than sixty now, eh? And in a short time of throwing this sword around has tired me out." He coughed a bit, and swung the sword down at the grass, as if he was lopping off some tall weeds.

His uncle was angry with himself, and Link had no idea what to say to him. He didn't want to offend the old man. "Why are you out here?"

"Gotta practice up; get myself in better shape." He didn't look at Link as he said this; instead, he stared at the pole and fidgeted with the sword in his right hand. "And...that's about it, Link. I sit around here all day, just relaxing and writing. Did you know I hadn't picked up this sword in eight weeks? That's inexcusable for a Knight."

A knight, Link thought. What did his uncle mean? He had heard many stories from his uncle's past adventures, of how he served with the Hylian Army and fought raiding parties from the Great Sea, but he had never heard his uncle refer to himself as a knight. The only knights that were ever mentioned in Hyrule were the Knights of Hyrule from ancient times. It was the Knights who were the most elite of all the military in all of Hyrule; they were always at the side of royalty and protected important people. They also fought valiantly for the Kingdom, fighting off invaders and domestic threats. They were at the forefront of every war, and could not be easily defeated. There hasn't been a Knight in Hyrule for hundreds of years.

Link moved forward again, and opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off. "Never mind, Link. I'm just an old man now, who keeps talking nonsense. Please, leave me alone for now, I have to continue practicing."

Unsure what to do next, Link slowly went back into the house; he had never seen his uncle so down on himself. What could possibly be wrong? Then it struck him, as he walked into the main room. He remembered seeing his uncle putting away a piece of paper as soon as Link got home. Perhaps it was a letter from somebody that brought ill news to his uncle. He hurried over to the desk and opened the drawer, only to find nothing but a quill and ink. Well, perhaps he just wasn't feeling well at all, Link thought.

After a half hour or so getting ready, Link went out the front door. He had with him his own sword, which was a gift from his uncle, his shield, some drink and food for the trip, and a handful of rupees. He turned the corner of the house again and saw his uncle still going with the sword.

"Well, I'm off, uncle" Link stated, and proceeded to the small stable where they kept their horses.

"I'm sorry, Link." His uncle had stopped practicing, and headed towards Link. "I'm just a little upset, is all. I'm out of practice and it just hit me this morning. I need to keep up my skills, just in case."

_Just in case indeed_, thought Link. He couldn't see any foreseeable reason for the sudden need for practice. His uncle did not travel much, and he was completely safe in his house. "Sure thing, uncle, no problem."

Aegis put his hand on Link's shoulder. "Let's say we have a little practice together, eh? For old time's sake." It has been a long time since the two of them sparred; his uncle taught Link everything he knows about sword fighting; Link was taught from a very early age how to handle the sword, and became quite good at it. He had begun teaching the older children at the school some basic manoeuvres and techniques.

"Are you sure you can handle it, old man?" Link asked playfully. He drew his sword from the sheath on his back, and flipped his shield around to his right arm. His uncle just laughed at his comment, and equipped himself with his own sword and shield.

They moved into a small clearing nearing the gardens, and danced around each other in circle, each awaiting the other to make the first move. The old man made a quick, sudden jump towards Link; he thrust his sword forward, and quickly pulled it right. Link had already moved to block the attack by throwing his shield to wear the sword would have landed, had his uncle not pulled it out at the last second. The speed of his uncle caught Link off-guard.

Aegis rolled on Link's shield, spinning around and putting his body weight onto Link. Link was slightly confused, but not for long; his uncle twirled around, and with his sword in his right hand, outstretched it and made a slicing motion towards Link's right side. The sword was coming straight for his shoulder, and he could not block it with his shield. Link dropped to the ground, and avoided the sword.

"That was quite the move; I don't think you'd be able to pull that off in actual combat!" Link laid on his back on the ground, his uncle standing over him, chuckling.

"Quite right, boy, but somebody had to get this fight started!"

Link rolled to his right and got to his feet, but not without swinging his sword first. He caught the bottom of his uncle's shield and, half crouching, raised his own shield to block his uncle's sword. The force at which the sword came down surprised Link yet again, who was not expecting such things from his old uncle.

Thrusting, twirling, blocking and slashing, the two seemed quite evenly matched. They were able to block each other's attacks, and take advantage of the other's weaknesses. They fought for an entire ten minutes, until Link's uncle overpowered him and sent Link flying to his back from a blow to the shoulder with the hilt of his sword.

The two were quite out of breath. "Looks like you needed that practicing" Link said sarcastically. He was helped up, and the two were laughing.

"Aye, looks like I still have the goods!" Aegis was quite proud of himself. "You did good, kid. You're a fine swordsman; back in the day, not many could last more than five minutes sparring with me."

"I can believe it, uncle." Link brushed himself off, and then put his sword and shield back in their place. "Now I have to make myself feel better, and teach some of those kids!" Link brought one of the horses out of the stable and mounted it. "I should be back by nightfall, tomorrow."

"Take your time, Link" his uncle said. "Be careful," he said, as he watched Link pass through the gates and into the woods outside. He went, closed the gates and head back to the house where he took a long, warm bath.

Link decided to go straight to Kakariko Village; Marin's house was slightly south of the path he was taking, and would take another two to three hours to traverse. So, heading straight to the Village, Link would be able to get there within six hours.

Upon leaving his house, Link had to travel a narrow path through the woods, until he came upon an old road used for military purposes. The old road, which has lost its name over the years, travels directly south until it hits the remnants of the Old South Wall. Traveling north along the road, however, would bring about a sharp bend, making the road head almost due west. West is exactly where Link wants to go, and is able by traveling the road, but not for long. The road bends more north-west, to make a straight line for Hyrule Kingdom.

Many paths had been made, however; some of them were almost turning into full roads, as they were traveled so much. Kakariko Village was becoming one of the largest settlements outside the Kingdom walls. Travelers from across Hylia would come to the village to sample a wide array of merchants, bars and restaurants. It was also one of the few settlements to have a full school, for children up to the age of thirteen. The Gorons, a race of large, tough rock creatures were notorious for creating the roads in Hylia, as they had a tendency to roll everywhere. The rolling of three or four Gorons together could demolish most obstacles. However, they did not venture very often or very far from their mountainous dwellings.

Link was making excellent time; he was half-way to his destination, within record time. The sun broke through the thick vegetation every so often, creating a peaceful atmosphere on the path. Many of the larger rocks had been moved aside from the path, along with the roots and small brush. This made traveling much easier for the horse.

Suddenly, something burst from within the trees on the side of the path in front of Link. It moved quickly, leaving only a blue and yellow blur behind it. It sank into the trees on the other side and disappeared. Link's horse reared back on its hind legs, obviously caught by surprise. Link was more curious than anything else.

Regaining control of the horse, Link made his way to where the blur disappeared. He jumped off the horse so that he could gain a better look into the shadows of the brush. He bent over, raised his left arm and grasped the hilt of his sword so that he could pull it out quickly. He moved a small shrub aside with his right hand, only to reveal a small, blue creature.

"A tektite, eh?" Link whispered to himself. This creature was numerous across Hylia, and was often noted as being quite a nuisance to farmers. It had six large, yellow legs, all attached to a rough, scaly blue body. It had only one eye, at the very front of its body, and a tiny mouth right below it. The mouth was so far down, that it appeared to rest on the bottom of the creature.

The tektite opened its mouth and analyzed Link with its cyclopic vision. Link could see a row of sharp teeth inside the mouth, and it began to drool. Link looked at it quizzically, and then suddenly, it sprung forward. Link didn't have enough time to completely draw his sword; managed to get it out, but not in front of him. The blue tektite bashed into Link's chest with full force, sending him reeling back a couple of feet, and onto his back. The tektite was now on top of Link, its drool running onto his chest.

"You slimy bastard!" Link yelled. He did not let go of his sword as he fell; he quickly thrust it into the side of the tektite, completely skewering it. The sword was not considered to be long, but it was enough to show itself on the other side of the tektite. The tektite's eye looked around rapidly, first, shooting off to its left, then over to its right, as if to look at the sword. It then looked to the ground beside Link, where it saw one of its own legs twitching about. The sword had completely severed the leg upon entry.

At that point, the tektite howled in agony, throwing its eye about, not focusing on anything anymore. Link stood up, brushing the creature off with his foot. The tektite continued to thrive about on the ground in pain, but it was quickly ended. Link took his sword and slashed its front, killing the creature immediately. Every child in Hylia knew that as soon as you damaged the eye, the tektite would be rendered dead.

"That was really weird, eh?" Link asked the horse, who had wandered off a bit to avoid the action. He cleaned his sword of the blood of the creature, and jumped back onto the horse's back. "Those tektites are usually so tame, and avoid us at all costs! I wonder where it grew the balls to attack me like that." Link could only hope to wonder, as he could not investigate any more, he had to reach Kakariko Village.

Link approached the gates of the village just minutes after noon. On either side of the gate stood great stone walls put together by the villages; they cut into the small hill that surrounded the village on its east side to create a magnificent looking pathway. The gate served no real purpose, except looks. One could easily climb over the hill, if it weren't for the tall lookouts standing at either side of the gate. There were usually three or four guards, soldiers from Hyrule, who stood guard at the gates, but today there was only one.

"Good afternoon, Link!" hollered the guard, who stood an impressive six foot two. The guard held a spear taller than himself, and the standard issue shield and sword on his back. Light armour covered by a white tunic carrying the symbols of Hyrule Kingdom, suggested that this military man was an archer.

"Good day to you, sir." Link pulled his horse up next to the man, who admired the beast. "Where are all your friends today?"

"Ah, good question, sir. They have been recalled. I have been re-assigned from my normal detail to stand guard this gate." Upon closer inspection, Link could see the guard was very young, about his own age.

Link looked over the guard's shoulders and the small guard's hut. "Interesting" Link trailed off, as he looked around inspecting the area. "What's going on that would call for the removal of all the main guards?"

"Can't say sir."

"Oh no? And why is that?"

"Just can't say, I'm sorry."

"You aren't allowed to say, or you just have no idea." Link was not pleased: the normal guards were usually much nice to him. "You're an archer; where is your bow?"

The guard looked over his shoulder, growing slightly impatient. "This isn't my normal armour." He paused, then "they have also recalled my normal armour. Now, I think you best move along, you are holding up traffic!" The guard moved back a few paces, and signalled to a wagon that was pulling up from behind Link.

Link also looked back at the wagon, which was a fair distance away. Link thought it a little strange, but decided that the Kingdom must have been planning something truly magnificent this year for the celebrations, and required all the soldiers, and apparently the better looking armour, for it.

Not entirely satisfied with the situation, Link continued forth into the village. Immediately upon entering the village, one is astonished at how large the area is. The large hills surrounding the eastern side of the village blocked the view of anything inside the village, except for the tall observatory tower. The hills steeply sloped down right after the gates, making a journey up or down them extremely dangerous. They were more like a cliff than the side of a hill. The Kakariko people took great pains to make sure that the cliffs remained off limits to traveling, as it served as protection for their fair town. The other sides of the town were enclosed by great wooden walls, with towers placed strategically. One could normally see the guards with their telescopes scouring the surrounding countryside, but today, Link could see nobody.

The majority of the town lay south of the gates; one could not see the wall to the south as he went through the gate, it was too far away. Link could see the northern wall, however, and he began to move on the road that went north. After a few paces, the road split, going north-west and south-west, then they turned and headed directly west. Roads running north and south branched off these two main roads. Between the two west running roads was a great tower, with a single ladder on one side. At the top was a small platform, with a telescope near one edge. It was said this telescope was the most powerful in Hylia, and perhaps the world. Unfortunately, it was rarely used, as most Hylians couldn't be bothered to look past their own borders.

In the same area was a great well, one of many in the village. A number of homes and huts hugged the eastern cliff, but most of the homes were located closer to the western wall. Kakariko Village was a planned settlement from the first day. It was almost twenty five years old now, and had finally reached maximum capacity only a few years ago. People were being turned away, and nobody was moving out.

Link turned onto the first road that headed north, sticking to the right. On the right hand side of the road were two large buildings; the first was the library, containing replicas of many of the books found in the great Hyrule Kingdom Library, and many other works from across the land. The second, slightly smaller building was the school. It had three classrooms inside, and a large yard that bordered on the cliff and the northern wall.

Link walked up the wooden planks that connected to the stairs, leading to the front doors of the school. Moving along the side of the building, he went through a small gate, to be greeted by his small class. A group of young Kakariko children, aged around thirteen, were playing with their wooden swords and shields, in anticipation of Link's arrival. Class has now begun.

Link opened the door to the tavern, to be hit by a wave of smells. Pipe-smoke was most dominant in the air, and indeed, it was visible near the ceiling. Next, the smell of liquor and lager filled Link's nose. He deeply inhaled, smiled, and moved on towards the bar.

The barkeep was a rough looking man, completely bald with a large, scruffy black moustache that drooped over his mouth. "What will it be, kid?" he asked, as he put a newly cleaned glass below the counter.

Link had to speak very loudly in order for the bartender to hear him. "A pint of your finest lager, and two fingers of the harshest whiskey you got back there" Link said with a wink.

Immediately, the bartender flipped a tiny glass out form behind the counter, and filled it with a silvery liquid. The bottle was tall and clear, letting the silver liquid shine through. The label showed a yellow triangle, completely equal on all sides, and in the centre of the bottle. No words accompanied it.

"You gotta have balls of steel" the barkeep grunted, "to handle this shite."

Link could only smile, as he reached for the glass; the liquid inside seemed to absorb light, allowing nothing to escape. "Throw anything my way, good sir, I will take it on" Link laughed. As he spoke, another, larger glass was being filled. He flipped a blue rupee onto the counter, told the bartender to keep the change and turned around, with both glasses in hand.

"Ahoy, Link!" A young man's voice called out from across the tavern. It belonged to one of Link's friends, named Osric. He was a large man, with wide, soaring shoulders and large, pointy ears sticking out of his brown hair. "Get on over here, we have much to drink!"

Link shuffled through the maze of tables and bodies, until he came upon the table where his friends sat. The table was round, wooden and small. It had enough room to fit all the glasses of the party, but it was clear that was its only purpose. Osric slammed down a large mug, spilling beer over the lip, getting the table all wet. There were two others sitting at the table with him. On Link's right, was a shy man named Barnes, and on the left was the fair-haired Thilo. All three of them were the same age as Link; they had grown up together, attending the same school in Kakariko. Thilo had moved to one of the small villages within the Kingdom walls, as he wished to join the Hyrulian Military.

"Hey, Link, how is everything going?" asked Barnes. Barnes was the most shy of the four of them; he spoke softly and drank slowly. He had bright orange hair, one of the rarest of the hair colours in all of Hylia. Thilo's father was a renowned blacksmith in the area, but Thilo himself had a much larger interest in archery. He had entered, and won, many competitions in central Hylia. Link was keen to learn much from him, as much as he could.

Link pulled up a chair and nodded to each of his friends as he sat down. "I'm doing well, thanks Barnes. Those kids really wore me out today, I need this drink."

"Well drink up, man!" bellowed Osric. He then proceeded to slap Barnes on the back, and took a swig of his lager. "We were beginning to think you may not show up!"

Thilo let out a small laugh, and turned to Link; "he means, HE was unsure. Just look at the time, it's still early!" He shook his head, then took a drink of water. "It's a little too early to begin drinking."

"Aye, it is early" said Osric, "but it is never early enough to begin drinking!"

"You're crazy, you know? I've never seen a man drink as much as you can, Osric" Link chuckled. A huge, wide smile appeared on Osric's face, and he took a couple more drinks proudly. "When did you get into town, Thilo?"

"Just a couple of days ago" he said, then looked around. "I decided to take a week off for the festivities, but the commander had other plans. He ordered me back; I have to go back in two days."

"Well that's too bad; you are going to miss everything! Well, you had best enjoy yourself while you can, eh?" said Link. He had not touched his alcohol yet. A waitress came over to the table, offering her services. "I think we need some more of this, a shot for each of my friends here!" Link said, as he held up the small glass of silvery ale.

The waitress brought back three more glasses, and put them down on the table. She left when Link paid, and the four men set their respective glasses in front of them.

"Hey now, this must be a special occasion, Link never buys!" laughed Osric, who took hold of the glass, which seemed to disappear in his large paw.

Smiling, Link said "you may be right, good friend." He looked down at his drink, erasing his smile. "Things are going well for us all lately; I think you would all agree. Except for you, Osric, who doesn't seem to do anything except drink all day" Link gave a quick smile and wink in Osric's direction, who revelled in the fact that he really did do nothing. "I want to propose a toast to us, to friends; to being such great friends in the past, present, and hopefully the future. I --" Link was cut off by Osric's boisterous voice.

"Argh, enough talkin man, let's get drinking!" He slowly started to raise his drink to his mouth, but Thilo's hand quickly shot over and grabbed Osric's arm, stopping him from drinking.

"Let the man through." Slightly embarrassed, Osric put his glass down.

Link cleared his throat. "Thanks. What I wanted to say, well, I'm not entirely sure how to say it. We've spent our entire childhood together, men, and it seems that we are now entering adulthood, with adult responsibilities, duties and characteristics. We are moving apart; first you, Thilo, who moved to the greater Hyrule Kingdom area, and joining the military. Barnes, my friend: you will be married in a few short months to a beautiful woman, then moving far east in hopes to raise a family. Osric, I know you don't like to talk about it, but you have grand plans as well. Your love for sailing may take you across the Great Sea to realms unknown, a journey that few have ever dared; what remains to be seen is if your love for alcohol will let up enough to allow you to fulfill your dreams." Osric looked down at the table, now embarrassed for another reason. "We do not talk about it much, but we are slowly drifting apart. We each have things to look after, and meetings like this will become less frequent. But we shall remain friends, I believe, forever."

Link paused, looking at his friends. Barnes was looking particularly down, as he thought about life without his best friends. Thilo looked ever-elegant, not showing emotion, but simply sitting and staring at Link in anticipation for more speech.

"Do not fret," Link said as he looked at Barnes, "for this is not a sad time. We must take hold of these wonderful opportunities, and celebrate them. There is nothing on this fair world that can break us apart, so, here it is: to us, to our future adventures, and remaining friends forever!"

They all raised their glasses to the centre of the table, clinking them against one another. Although some were not ready for it, the four of them knew the weight of the moment, and how much it meant to each other. Over the past year, they could rarely get together in a full group, as they were busy with their own lives. They had grown up, but did not want to accept it; indeed, they tried not to think about it or discuss it among each other.

They threw their heads back and took the ale in a single shot, then slammed their glasses back down onto the table.

"That was well said, Link. I think we all needed to hear that, regardless if we wanted to or not. We have to accept what is happening in our lives, and how it affects our friendship" said Thilo. They all sat in silence, reminiscing about the past, and thinking ahead into the future.

Suddenly, Osric stood up, swaggering a bit as he did. "Well ladies, I am off to the little boy's room, I shall be right back." He walked away, brushing up against the wall in some parts, and accidentally kicking people's chairs, in his drunken state. The others laughed faintly, and starting drinking their lager.

The three of them sat in silence, until but a few moments passed when Osric came back. The tavern had started to fill up with patrons, smoking their pipes and drinking, laughing, and playing games. The four friends started talking again, about the usually things, of course. They had to catch up on the latest news; they heard stories about Thilo's experience in the military, Barnes' adventures out east looking to purchase a home with his future wife, and of how much Osric had drank on particular occasions.

They talked without stopping for hours, taking back a good amount of ale throughout the course of the night. Finally, a break in the conversation made the four friends realize they were almost alone in the bar, as everyone had gone home. The barkeep had begun to prepare the tavern for closing, and so it was decided, they would head home: Link and Thilo to the grand Kakariko Inn, Barnes to his girlfriend's house, and Osric to his own house near the main gates.


	3. Marin

**_III – Marin_**

"Have you ever thought about coming out, joining the Hyrulian Military?" asked Thilo. He had gotten up early, to talk with Link.

"You know me, Thilo; the military just isn't for me, never has, and never will be." Link was walking to a small cafe that served an excellent breakfast, when Thilo had rushed out of the inn to join him. A few pleasantries aside, Thilo got right into what was on his mind.

"Yeah, I know you" Thilo said, straightening out his jacket. "But, you're an excellent fighter, a remarkable swordsman and wonderful archer! You could climb the ranks fast." Thilo was interested in the military ever since he was a small child, and had joined up the first day he was allowed: when he turned sixteen. Always a natural leader, he had become very official in his dialogue and mannerisms since joining. He was also a horrible conspiracy theorist, always cooking up new theories on why people do things. He rarely followed up on his theories; instead, he would simply state them, think about them and generally forget them weeks later.

"The military is all about group work; I've never been too good with that. I fight alone, I walk alone."

"Mr. Independent here, eh?"

They arrived at the cafe, which had a small area outside with table to sit at. "Something like that, I guess."

"Well, whatever, I know your style but I still think you would do well in the military."

Link brushed the conversation off; he had zero interest in joining the military, he didn't want to get involved with that type of life. He wanted to be a free man, wandering the land by himself. He was keen to go on adventures by himself, for the simple sake of taking in the scenery. When he began courting Marin, however, these journeys would become fewer and far between, but he didn't complain: he loved her.

"So, when are you going to marry Marin?" Thilo's question was blunt and caught Link by surprise.

"Geez man, there is no skirting around the issue with you anymore!" Thilo chuckled, but he remained very interested in the answer. "But, to answer you question, I would have to say I have no idea."

"It's been a while since you two have been together" Thilo trailed off a bit, then "have you given it a lot of thought? Have you two talked about such things?"

Link had given it a lot of thought, especially lately, and to be quite frank, it scared him. "This idea of getting married, it means a lot. I have thought about it, but we haven't really talked too much. Marin, I know would love to, but she isn't pushing for it. I'm just not sure I'm ready for something like that." He took a sip of his drink.

"She wants to, but you're afraid to commit." It was more like a statement than a question.

Link continued to sit in silence, musing about marriage, and what it would mean to do such a thing. He definitely loved Marin, and being with her, but something kept holding him back. He couldn't quite figure out why marriage would be so bad. Thilo cut into his thoughts.

"Well, perhaps this topic is too much for the morning" said Thilo. He leaned forward in his seat a bit, then said "hey, did you notice the general lack of guards in this town lately? Ah, I can tell you did, eh? Pretty strange, I would say. They are calling back many of the troops across all of Hylia, ever wonder why?" Of course, this had caught Link's attention.

"Well, considering that there really is no danger to the village" Link said. He was unable to complete his thought.

"True, but it is odd. The King has always been very generous with his troops, keeping various villages across the land safe from harm.

"Perhaps they realize that there is no harm, no threat anymore."

"Maybe, but perhaps they are planning something big. Perhaps they need all the soldiers for something. The word going through the vine is that something big is coming, and nobody knows what. It's scaring a lot of people, man. You should see the Kingdom, it's completely packed right now with personnel; one has never seen so many military men in one place before."

"It must be a sight to behold."

"Oh, it is for sure. If an army were to come in off the seas, they would turn right around at the sight of our military."

"Do you think that is going to happen?"

"Couldn't say, really. Nobody knows, but there is a lot of speculation. Some of the guys are getting really scared."

"Are you?"

Thilo laughed at the question. "Of course not, it's all theory right now, but it's fun to speculate. I don't see any foreseeable harm coming upon Hyrule."

"Well, as long as you think it's safe, Thilo, I will feel safe." Link finished his drink, and quickly paid for both he and Thilo's meal. "I do believe I should be going though, I promised Marin I would be at her place by mid-afternoon."

Thilo leaned back, resting his hands on the back of his head; he smiled and told Link how much he enjoyed seeing him again. "I know it's slow, but you should take the time and write me more often."

"I'll try, Thilo. It was really good to see you again, and you should write more often too!"

"But of course."

"Keep care of yourself, eh?"

"You needn't worry about me, Link." The two stood up, and shook hands. But neither would let go; instead, they pulled each closer, then wrapped their free hand across the other. With a pat on each other's back, they released themselves from the brief hug, and smiled admirably upon one another. They both realized that if the rumours were true, they may not see one another for quite some time, as Thilo would be kept busy with military operations.

The two did not say anything else to each other; Link slowly turned, and walked away. He looked back as he left, to see Thilo sitting back down. Link had already said his goodbyes to Osric and Barnes earlier in the morning. He would not see Barnes until his wedding, a short four months away. Barnes would be spending the next three months searching for a home in the east, and then coming back to Kakariko just before the wedding to make final preparations. Osric told Link that he would try pursuing sailing, taking more lessons and practicing in Lake Hylia, then perhaps out to the Great Sea.

As Link rode his horse south-east, towards Lon Lon Ranch, he couldn't stop thinking about marriage. Thilo had definitely pushed his thoughts in the general direction, and made Link question himself as to why he hasn't asked her hand in marriage yet.

After just a couple of hours of traveling, Link finally reached the area known as Hyrule Field. It was a massively large area, free of thick forest. There were only a few patches of trees and brush scattered about on the field. The field was surrounded by thick forest, with roads seeping into it from the field, which gently sloped up to reach a climax in the very centre of the large area. It was at this highest point in the field that lay Lon Lon Ranch; the ranch was enclosed by massive stone walls, and only one gate allowed entrance to within the ranch.

In reading many of the history books in the Kakariko Library, Link had learned that many scholars believed that Hyrule Field was the location of the original Hyrule Castle, which was now located a fair distance away, in the middle of Hyrule Kingdom. It was theorized that Hyrule Field was the centre of the old Kingdom, but nobody knew what happened to it. However, there was no sign of a Castle, as nobody in recent history had found any trace of rubble, rocks or anything left behind by past generations. The Field was the location for a massive dig many years ago, but nothing was found.

A stream entered Hyrule Field from the north-east, being fed from the far-off Zora's Fountain found near Death Mountain. The stream ran along the northern part of the field, bent south along the tree line and then turned again, heading east. It always ran very close to the trees, and in some parts, was wide enough that small islands were in the middle of the water. The stream bent south-east into the woods, finally reaching Lake Hylia, the largest lake in the entire Hylia continent.

The only buildings in Hyrule Field were the ones inside Lon Lon Ranch. Link could barely see the ranch's great walls when he emerged from the forest. It would take another half hour of casual riding until he reached the main gate. As he rode closer to the ranch, he could see smoke rising from behind the northern wall; obviously being emitted from the main house. He was finally close enough to see moss growing on parts of the wall, and some plants making their way up towards the sun, using the wall as a ladder. He moved along the northern wall, admiring the view of the surrounding forests. He could see for miles, as the steady incline to the ranch put one high enough to see over the tallest of the trees in the forest.

He had to proceed down the eastern side of the wall, where the gate was located. It was open, as it always was during the day. Talon in addition to being Marin's father owned and operated the ranch; he sold milk, raised cattle, horses, chickens and other farm animals and sold them to people in southern Hylia. He always left the gate so people could come and go, but at night, he made sure to lock it up tight.

Link rode through the gates, around a bend then into the main yard. On his right was a building, used to house the milking cows. On his left, was a great big building that was the house of Talon and Marin. Further down the wide road, was a house that was about the same size as Link's own that housed Ingo. Ingo was an angry little man, rail thin with great bushy, black eyebrows who helped around the ranch. Talon had hired him to take care of the majority of operations around the ranch, so that Talon himself would have more time relax and travel. Ingo appeared from around the corner of the building on Link's right; he quickly shuffled over to where Link stood with his horse, taking the reins.

"Good day, Ingo" Link said. He never particularly cared for the man, as Ingo was extremely rude and menacing. But, he was handy to have around the ranch, and that was all that mattered to Talon.

Ingo said nothing, as Link dismounted, grabbed a pack off the horse, and began walking towards the large house. Ingo would take the horse to the stables, where he would be cleaned, fed and generally cared for.

"Thanks a bunch, Ingo!" The man did not look back at Link; he disappeared around the corner and continued his business.

Link strode up to the front door of the house, then gave it a quick knock. He didn't wait long until he opened the door up and helped himself inside. The main room was large; it was two stories tall, with a staircase going up to the second floor located in the middle of the room. The wooden floors cracked as Link walked along them. The upstairs housed many rooms, many of which went to waste now that only two people lived in the place.

Turning to his right, Link entered through an arched doorway into what Talon called 'the sleeping room,' which was originally meant for meeting guests. A number of luxurious couches sat in this room, along with a massive fireplace that always seemed to be going. Talon was sleeping on one of the larger couches.

_That man never stops sleeping!_ thought Link. He didn't try to wake the man, either; Link knew it would be of no use: Talon could sleep through anything. He then proceeded to check some of the other rooms, but Marin was nowhere to be found. He left his bag on a table in the main room, and pulled a red rose from it. He then went outside to find Marin.

After passing the various buildings, the ranch opens up. A great big field inside provided room for the horses to run around. Another fenced off area had a small obstacle course setup, with fences in varying heights scattered about. The fence formed a giant circle, surrounded by a yellow dirt path. Outside the fence, was area for the other animals on the ranch, including pigs, chickens and grazing cows. The field was almost completely flat, and extended right up to the outer walls.

Link walked up to the fence's small gate, and looked in to find Marin. He admired her beauty, as her back was turned to him; she was grooming a horse, and singing. Marin loved to sing, her voice able to reach a wide range. Her voice was heavenly; it seemed to fill the air and relax the muscles. Link could not recognize the tongue the song she was singing was in:

_Epona Epona soba ni oide  
Futari de ireba sabishiku nanka nai_

_Dakara Epona koko ni ite  
Omae dake o mamotte ageru_

_Koushite iru to omoi dasu  
Ano hi no yoake  
Tsuki ga shizumi taiyou to  
Omae ga umareta_

_Epona Epona soba ni oide  
Futari de ireba kanashiku nan ka nai_

_Dakra Epona koko ni ite  
Watashi no uta o kiite ite ne_

_Koushite iru to omoi dasu  
Ano koro no koto  
Omae no tame ni kaazan ga  
Tsukutta kono uta_

_Hmm.. Hmm..  
Futari de ireba kanashiku nan ka nai_

_Hmm.. Hmm..  
Wasurenai demo kono uta  
Kono uta..._

Link listened to her sing the entire song; he was mesmerized by her angelic voice. He had heard her sing this particular song before, always to the same horse. The horse was Marin's favourite; his name was Epona. Epona was a magnificent animal; he was surely the largest horse in the ranch, and maybe even all of Hylia. However, he seemed to be very choosy, and would not let very many ride him. Marin was one of the few who could tame him; Epona seemed to have a liking for Link, but had not let Link ride him yet.

As the gate opened, it let out a bit of a squeak, which alerted Marin to Link's presence. She turned around, quickly; her dress flowed just moments after, and landed softly on the ground. Link jogged over her, picked her up and swung her around. She laughed gently, and slipped her arms around Link to embrace him as he let her down softly. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek as they embrace one another.

"I have never heard a voice more angelic than yours, Marin" said Link. This made her blush a tiny bit, as she looked straight into his eyes.

She was just a few inches shorter than Link himself, who was nearly six feet in height. Link would get lost in her grey eyes; she had small, perky nose with a small number of freckles on either side. Her plush, red lips were just a shade darker than her long, red hair. Her ears poked through her hair, which cascaded down her back all the way down to her waist. She had a white, low cut shirt on today, with blue trim on the shoulder-length arms. The shirt was tucked into a long, flowing dress that glided across the ground. Around her waist was wrapped a brown belt, with a brown apron coming straight down the front of the dress and stopping just before it hit the grass.

"I believe that if we could hear the Goddesses speak, they would have your voice" Link said, as he smiled.

She giggled, slightly embarrassed. Marin asked Link what he had hiding behind his back. He pulled slowly, from behind his back, a red rose; her eyes grew in excitement as she slowly wrapped her fingers around the flower. "This is so beautiful, wherever did you find such a thing?"

As she was staring at the flower in wonder, Link wrapped his hands around her waist, then gently lifted her up on top of the mighty Epona, who shifted his weight to accept her. He rested his hand on her thigh, and it was joined by her own. She put the flower behind her ear, and looked down at Link with a bright smile.

"Beautiful!" Link said, who was now holding her hand. Link began to walk forward and Epona followed alongside him, so that he and Marin's hands could remain together. They walked slowly around the ranch, talking about their days and any news they had. They would go past the inner fence and brush up against the outer walls, then visit each of the stables and groups of animals.

A great length of time passed, when they heard Talon hollering for them, to indicate the arrival of dinner. Link helped Marin dismount; her legs being exposed as she got off, and her dress sliding over Epona. Her legs and feet were quickly enveloped again by the dress, and they walked towards the main house. As they got closer to the house, Link noticed Ingo standing up against one of the barns. Marin was laughing as she told story about how the chickens began harassing some cows; Link slipped his arm around her waist, and glanced at Ingo. With his arms folded across his chest and chewing on a long piece of grass, he spat and stared at Link, unblinking.

When Marin looked over at Ingo, he quickly stopped looking and began walking away. She yelled out at him, inviting him to join them for dinner, but he mumbled and declined, quickly heading into the barn. She didn't think much of it, of course and continued to laugh softly as they went into the front door.

"Here be a great feast, mates! Don't dilly-dally, eat up!" Talon exclaimed. They had all sat down at the dinner table in the main house, Marin and Link sitting across from each other, and Talon sitting at the head of the table. "This here is my finest chicken; I had to cut the poor bugger's head off just this morning." Talon looked genuinely sad, like he had lost a friend.

"I just want to say thank you for the meal, sir. It looks great, as always!" said Link. He had been coming over for dinner more often in the past few weeks, and had learned that Talon was quite the cook. "What is that, may I ask?" Link pointed at a bowl of green food; it looked like thick discs with spots of yellow inside.

Talon looked up, at the bowl. "Wish I could tell ye, boy! I ain't got not clue, some fellow brought that over. I reckon his old hag made it for him, and he didn't know what to do with it." Talon eagerly took a big piece of chicken and slapped it onto his plate. He licked his lips, and began cutting it up.

"Ah father" Marin chuckled. "I think that means you best not be eating it!" She laughed, and pushed aside the bowl. She helped herself to some of the vegetables on the table, creating a colourful array of foods on her plate.

"Have I got a story to tell yas!" Talon finished chewing, then proceeded to tell his story about the last trip he took into Hyrule. It wasn't particularly interesting, thought Link, but the delivery was classic. Talon would embellish the smallest points in his stories, and exaggerate others. He enjoyed telling them to people whenever he had a chance, and he would go one for hours if he was allowed. Always the joker, he was keen to tell the latest jokes he had heard from wherever as well.

They continued to eat dinner, followed by desert and a relaxing conversation by the fire. Talon, of course, fell asleep on his favourite couch, and the other two were left alone. The sun had begun to set.

"Unfortunately, I must be heading out" Link said. "I promised my uncle I would be home by nightfall tonight."

"Well, if you must! But first, let's go watch that sunset outside, please?" Link couldn't resist, of course. They went outside, into the field outside the ranch's outer walls.

They sat down beside a great big tree, one of the few in the field. Marin fell into Link's arms as they sat there, watching the sun go down slowly.

"This is perfect" Marin said softly. Link nodded his head slightly in agreement, and ran his hand gently through her long hair. Marin's head was no sitting on Link's chest; she bent it back, so as to look at Link.

Gently smiling, Link said very slowly "you're perfect; nothing can stop making me love you." She smiled, and propped herself up to kiss Link on the lips. She went back down, and continued to watch the sunset. They were completely content to sit there, knowing they had each other, their love.

Link shifted himself so that he would be better aligned with Marin. The sun would set very soon, he knew, and he had to go. But he did not want to leave. Marin looked at him, with her bright, innocent eyes. He moved his finger from her temple, down to cheek, touching the side of her lips and pulling them down a big, and when they released, he finally ended up at her chin. She had closed her eyes, and let Link move his fingers along her face, all around her neck and exposed collarbone, slowly moving down to her chest. He stopped, and moved his arm around her, and holding the back of her head gently, he moved his body forward. She kept her eyes closed, and knew what was coming. They kissed passionately into the night, well beyond when the sun had been swallowed completely by the edge of the land.


	4. The Imprisoning War

**_IV – The Imprisoning War_**

Link arrived back at his house in the very early morning; it took a number of hours to travel from Lon Lon Ranch to the house his uncle built. By the time he walked in, his uncle had already gone to bed and was fast asleep. Nothing was left for him to do but go to bed, and get some much needed rest.

In the morning, Link slept in, and was awoken by his uncle. After a short while, Link was up and about going through his morning routine. He saw his uncle outside, practicing against invisible monsters outside. After finishing breakfast, his uncle walked through the door and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the fireplace.

Link walked over and sat down on the couch across from his uncle. "How have you been, uncle? Are you feeling a bit more confident about your skills again?"

"Aye, I am at that, boy." Link could tell something was on his uncle's mind, but was unsure what it was. "You did a lot of traveling the past few days, eh?"

"I like traveling" was all Link could think to say.

"I used to travel a lot when I was your age too, Link. It's good for a man." Link wasn't sure where he was going with this at all. "I'm not going to be around forever, son."

Link's mouth dropped in shock. "What in Din's Hell do you mean?!"

Aegis was a little restless. "I'm getting old, and you are becoming a man. Before you know it, you will be moving out of here, probably to go live with Marin, should you choose that is what you want." Link continued to stare at him.

"If I had a choice, uncle, I would choose to have Marin come live me here, in this house, with you!"

"Oh, is that right? Have you thought about this? I mean, have you thought about what you want to do in life?"

Now Link was thoroughly confused; first, his best friend Thilo question's his desires and future, and now his uncle is doing the same thing! He didn't have an answer for the question. "I don't, honestly, really know what I want to do. I have just essentially said goodbye to my friends for who knows how long, cause they are all moving on with their own lives, and here I am, stuck with nothing. You. You saying you won't be around forever. Then I'm being questioned about what I want to do. Well, I will tell you. I want to stay here! I want to stay in this little house with your for a long damn time; I don't want to go join the military, I don't want to go sailing, I just want..." Link trailed off.

"Aye, there is no need to be upset, Link. You are facing tough choices. It is at the point in your life where you are faced with many questions, and they are tough decisions, boy!" Aegis moved over, and put his arm on Link's shoulder.

"I just don't think, I couldn't imagine what it would be like if you weren't here. I love you, uncle; you are the only family I have!" His eyes began to tear up.

"Now now son, I understand. You will do what you have been destined to. You have always been fiercely independent, and you will be able to take care of yourself. It may seem hard to believe right now, but you will do well for yourself. I have a good feeling."

"What are you talking about?" Link's voice cracked.

"You must follow your heart, Link. Deep down, you know what you have to do, you just need to listen to your heart. You've been thinking about this before, I can tell, and it is frightening, but you will be alright. You do too much thinking with this up here!" his uncle said, tapping Link's forehead with his finger. "You can't plan everything like your friends have done, there's no need for it! You will follow your heart and your instincts. Now, I have an important story to tell you, but I have to head out for a moment to meet a friend. When I come back, I will tell you this story." He stood up, and started for the door. "And just remember: always listen to your heart!" He stepped out the door, and was gone.

A number of hours had passed, and Link was busying himself with various chores around the house. His uncle came through the door, and they both sat down in front of the fireplace. This time, his uncle brought with him some fresh kindling, and got the fire started.

"Did you ever learn about 'The Imprisoning War', Link?" Aegis asked.

"Well, briefly, I guess. In class, yes."

"Aye, well, you can probably forget about everything you learned, cause it was all lies." Link was a bit surprised. "I'm going to tell you the true tale, the true events of what happened all those years ago. The version they are spreading around in schools is washed out, washed of the gory details, the frightening truth of the whole situation."

His uncle poured himself a cup of wine, and a cup for Link. "You already know some of this, but I will cover it right now anyways. The Triforce was located in a place called The Golden Land, and you probably hear it referred to as the Dark World. Well, you know about Ganon, who had broken into the Golden Land, and obtained the Triforce. I do not know what he wished for exactly, but his wishes turned the once beautiful Golden Land into a horrible place filled with nightmares. He ruled there; an entire world at his disposal. But it wasn't enough. Ten years after stealing the Triforce, Ganon revealed the location of the portal to the Dark World to us here in Hyrule. He amassed an army, recruiting Hylians greedy for more power, and sent it marching upon Hyrule. Ganon would be able to use the powers of the Triforce against the people of Hyrule Kingdom; magical powers that could not be equalled here. Hyrule could not defend against it without taking severe casualties, and that's exactly what happened. Back in that day, the Knights of Hyrule were plentiful in number. They protected the land, and fought valiantly against Ganon's armies. It would be a slaughter; many Knights, along with the regular military, would lose their lives in the year that the war raged on. Ganon would not leave his Dark World, in fear that the Triforce would be split apart. He kept his power as long as he stayed in that cess pool.

But there was hope; immediately upon learning of the portal to the Dark World, the Wise Men of Hyrule anticipated that Ganon would launch such an attack. The people of Hyrule forged a sword that would be able to repel magic. They had hoped this sword would be able to fight off Ganon, as they assumed the Triforce's power was a form of magic. The sword was known as 'The Blade of Evil's Bane', but it is now more commonly known as the Master Sword."

"Yes, I have heard of the famous sword! So the legends are true? The sword itself holds magical powers?" Link was eager to learn more from his uncle.

"Aye, uh, well, it is a little unknown. The Master Sword was only wielded once, eh? It has been sitting, in hiding inside Hylia for hundreds of centuries. The sword took a long time to create; by the time it was finished, the land of Hyrule was almost conquered by Ganon's forces. It wouldn't be long, they figured, until he brought the Triforce into their realm and granted his evil wishes.

A Knight took up the Master Sword, and went on a secret mission. He was to assassinate Ganon when he came out of the Dark World. He was able to, through disguise, defeat many of Ganon's magic-wielding guards. The Master Sword was proven to work against them, and he quickly took the blade to kill Ganon. He was unsuccessful, but only in part. He could not kill Ganon with the sword, but he was able to steal two pieces of the Triforce. The Knight took up the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage, and battled Ganon. The Triforce pieces gave the Knight, and the Master Sword, enough power to strike Ganon down. However, since Ganon still possessed the Triforce of Power, he was not killed, but merely stunned. The Seven Wise Men took this opportunity, and put a seal on the portal to the Dark World, trapping Ganon inside forever."

"So, Ganon still has the Triforce of Power?" Link asked.

"Oh yes, it is true. Unfortunately, they were not able to get that piece from him, as they just had enough time to send him into the Dark World, and put the seal on immediately. Now, the King of Hyrule had the other two pieces of the Triforce, and he used them to restore order in our world. But he realized that the powers of those two pieces could still be used for evil, and hence called for the mystical Sages to come and protect them.

The Sages exist in an area called the Chamber of Sages, and much is unknown about them. All is known is that there are six sages, chosen by the Leader, a Sage named Rauru. These Sages do not exist in our world, but it does exist. I personally believe it is in the heavens, created by the three goddesses, so that they may hear our prayers, and communicate with us through Rauru. But the Sages couldn't take the Triforce, so they collectively decided to hide it.

Over time, Sages are replaced by beings deemed worthy. So, the Sages have forgotten where they hid the pieces of the Triforce. This was only discovered when one King came into power and wanted to use the Triforce pieces to enhance our world. But even if the Sages could find the Triforce pieces, the people of Hyrule would not allow the King to use it. Nobody wanted to risk the chance that something bad would happen.

And that, my son is the story of the Imprisoning War, as it has come to be known. Many good people lost their lives that day, but it was not in vain. Hyrule can now live in peace, thanks to them all."

Link sat, motionless. The story was magnificent, he though, and it intrigued him a great deal. He asked his uncle how he knew all of this.

"Our family has passed it down, over the generations. When a boy comes to be your age, they are told the story, without embellishment. And it is trusted upon you that you will carry on the story, and tell your son when he becomes your age, exactly as I have told you."

"I wish I had the opportunity to know my father, and my mother" Link said. "But I know what I must do, and I will tell the story on."

Aegis smiled, "I know you will do a good job no matter what happens. Your parents were good people, and they would have been proud of the man you have become."

By this time, it had grown dark outside, and the fire was just a small spark. Suddenly, a tapping was heard coming from the door; the two of them looked over quickly. "That would be your owl friend, wouldn't it?"

"I do believe so, boy." His uncle stood up and headed towards the door. He opened it, and saw only two small rolls of paper sitting on the doorstep.

"What is it, a trained messenger?" asked Link.

"That's it! A trained messenger, of sorts. The thing can deliver messages quite quickly, I would say."

"Do you still receive updates about the world from Hyrule, uncle?"

Aegis closed the door, and walked to the desk in the corner. He slid the two rolls in the drawer, without reading them first. "You might say that, yes."

Suddenly, his uncle had stopped talking, and appeared mysterious to Link. "Is something wrong, uncle?"

"No, no Link, nothing is wrong. I'm just tired from all that storytelling, tis all!" His uncle quickly lightened up, and stretched. "I'm afraid I should be heading to bed."

Link nodded in agreement, and prepared the house for the night. His uncle went to bed, and Link remained out in the main room. He sat, with the fire on, thinking of various things. On the forefront of his mind was the Imprisoning War, but thoughts of Marin kept interrupting him. After a while, he found himself staring at the desk drawer, wondering what the letters inside might say. His uncle had been acting strange the past few days, and the answer as to why may be in that drawer. He stood up, and headed towards the desk.

He put his hand on the top of the desk, slowly moving it towards the drawer. He quickly pulled his hand off the desk, and into his pocket. He mustn't peer into his uncle's personal letters. Secrets were not something that were normally kept in the household, so he trusted that he would find out what was going on soon enough.

He put the fire out, and went to bed.


	5. Hyrule Castle

**_V – _****_Hyrule_********_Castle_****__**

The Kingdom of Hyrule is now a much smaller image of what it used to be. Once spanning hundreds of miles, it is but a few miles in width now. Nobody is quite sure why it was reduced in size, or even when, but some are quick to say that Hyrule had no need to be so large in the first place.

The new Kingdom is nothing short of magnificent though; the walls stand tall and proud, waving the Hyrulian flags wherever there is space. Guards keep a constant, watchful eye on the areas surrounding the Kingdom just in case an attacker comes. So far, no army has ever marched upon the great walls of Hyrule.

Deep inside the Kingdom walls lies Hyrule Castle, a beautiful structure that reaches towards the sky with multiple towers and buildings. It is surrounded by a moat; the castle is only accessible through two large draw-bridges, one of which is used solely for military purposes. The walls surrounding the castle are slick and tall, making it nearly impossible for anyone to grab an edge and make his way up. Unlike many of the other walls in Hylia, vegetation is unable to grow in the cracks between the large, cut rocks that the wall is composed of; they are compressed together too tightly.

Just outside the main bridge to the castle is Hyrule Market. Hyrule Market is a very small town composed mainly of vendors who wish to take advantage of the rich royals who come and go from Hyrule Castle on a regular basis. It is also the most diverse settlement in all of Hylia, housing members from all the known races.

King Harkinian was the current ruler of Hyrule; he has been in power since he turned the age of twenty-two, when his parents were assassinated. He was a fat, jovial man who got along with everybody. His subjects loved him, and he loved them all. He stood over six feet in height, had massively long ears and a deep voice. His eyes were bright and blue, his hair was dark brown and his hands were gentle. Many people were quick to dismiss him as a coward, however, and they could be right. During his rule, his wife, the Queen was notorious for making many of the decisions. The King was quite submissive, and did not like to angry people. He would stay out of arguments and let the decisions be made for him.

After going through the main gate, a visitor to the castle would come across a large courtyard. The courtyard wound its way around the entire castle, branching off to many smaller buildings near the walls. The main palace was in the very center. Many towers branched off the palace to scrape the sky. The castle also dove deep underground to depths unknown by anyone.

The King sat on his throne, watching as a messenger approached him. Two mighty thrones sat side by side for the King and Queen; an altar was located immediately behind them so that they could pray to the goddesses. The throne room was very long and in the very centre of the building; curtains lined the sides and a great red carpet was covered the middle of the room. Columns were lined up along the side of the carpet.

Harkinian was playing with his beard, when the door had opened and the messenger came walking quickly in. He poured himself a malice of wine, and smiled as the young man approached him. When the messenger arrived before the King, he greeted him by bowing down and handing him a sealed letter.

"Ho! What is this you have brought me?" The King asked, laughing.

The messenger stood up, fully erect and confident. "This is a report from the commanding legates. They report that all men are accounted for, and are in their respective centuries, awaiting deployment."

"Good job! Would you like some wine?" The King held the container of wine up towards the young messenger.

"No sir, that won't be necessary."

"Humph. Fair enough" the King pouted. "Just leaves more for me" he trailed off, and took another sip of his wine.

"As well, Sire, the dinner is almost ready. You may go to the dining room at any time to join your guests." The messenger spun around on his heel, and quickly left the great hall, leaving the King to himself.

"Aye, I had better get going, I guess" the King spoke to himself. He slowly lifted himself from his throne, which seemed to get harder for him as the years went by. He slowly moved down the hall and into a door on the left. His great robe dragged on the ground behind him, and his crown rested atop his head, crushing his hair and putting pressure on the tops of his ears. He finally approached another closed set of doors. He opened it up and walked in.

Everybody in the room immediately stood up to accept the King. "You may all sit back down, continue your business" Harkinian said as he spotted his favourite chair and made way for it.

There were five other people in the room; they stood in pairs, talking to each other except for one man. He made his way towards the King as soon as he entered the room.

"Good evening, Agahnim! How goes your day?" Harkinian smiled, and shook Agahmin's hand.

Agahnim was a short, blue-skinned man. He wore a great big red cloak that covered most of his body; aside from his head, only his arms seemed to be visible. One couldn't make out any of his features underneath the cloak; his body was never visible, and his legs were always covered up. His face was for the most part, uncovered. He wore a red cap that was secured by a small rope; below the rope cloth came down, flowing onto his back and shoulders.

"I am doing well, sir. I trust you received the report?" Harkinian nodded. "Excellent. All we need now is your approval by means of signature, and our armies will immediately begin to move."

"Good stuff, Agahnim! But how about we hold off discussion on that till dinner, eh?" The King stood up and slapped Agahnim on the back.

"But of course" Agahnim said, smiling. His smile revealed a mouthful of rotted teeth, and bad odour. He slithered away to his original spot in the room.

A door sprung open, and a young woman announced that dinner would be served. All the guests shuffled into the main dining room and sat down at their respective seats. The dining room had marble floor, with great columns attached to the walls. The ceiling was extremely tall in this room. Paintings surrounded the guests on all the walls.

King Harkinian sat at the head of the table. To his right was Agahnim, and to his left, was his daughter, Zelda. Beside Zelda sat Caius, and across from him was Bryant. Standing about ten feet behind Zelda was a tall woman, whose name was Impa.

Princess Zelda was an elegantly young, beautiful woman. She was full-bodied, extremely intelligent and the only offspring of King Harkinian. She was the only heir to the throne. Behind her was Impa, Zelda's nursemaid and personal bodyguard. She was of the Sheikah, a mysterious race from the south. She stood tall and proud, ever watchful and observant.

Caius was the King's chief military advisor and highest-ranking soldier in the Hyrule Kingdom. He did not see much action anymore in his old age, but still participated in leading troops and organizing the military. Bryant was the King's chief economic and foreign affairs advisor. He was a thin, middle-aged man with very little hair remaining on his head.

A number of women came out of the doors leading to the attached kitchen; they brought out a great amount of food for the dinner party. Before eating, the King would give a quick prayer, thanking the goddesses for their meal, peace in the kingdom and happiness to all. This was the first time in many years that all of them had gotten together.

"I do believe, that we should say thanks to our gracious king here, as well," Agahnim said.

The King responded with a laugh, and they all raised their wine glasses to toast him.

For the most part, they ate in silence. The King would occasionally come up with a good story, or a joke to tell, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Finally, Agahnim spoke.

"Is there any reason she must stand there all the time?" he asked. He sounded a big agitated, as he pointed at Impa with his fork.

Princess Zelda shot him a glance. "Impa is of the Sheikah race; she need not eat, nor sleep, for that matter." She ate a bit more, all the while staring at Agahnim. He looked over at the King.

"Is there any reason she has to stand there? Couldn't she be off, fighting, I don't know, bears or something?" He laughed, while Impa remained completely motionless.

"Ho ho!" Harkinian was amused. "T'would be tough to part Impa and Zelda, that's for sure. She is Zelda's loyal nursemaid, ever since she was a child! Why, is she bothering you?"

Agahnim muttered 'no' under his breath, and continued to eat his food.

"Sorry for this, sire, but it needs to be said. What is the purpose of this meeting?" It was Caius who had spoken. He had grown impatient of the slow moving dinner.

"Ah, fair enough, dear Caius," the King said. Nobody at the table really knew why the King had called them all together. It was a week of celebration, but they had not met together for dinner in the past. "I have great news: the entire military has been called back. They are all grouped here inside Hyrule, and are ready to move out."

"Apparently. But for what reason?" Caius replied dryly. The King had no immediate response.

"You know why," the King said.

"You'll have to refresh our memories, King."

"Wait a second," Zelda interrupted. "ALL of the soldiers have been recalled? Wouldn't that mean the settlements have been left unprotected?" She sounded worried.

"From what, Princess?" This was Bryant who broke in. "There hasn't been a threat in all of Hylia for years."

"The people out there need to see that protection, they need to see that we care!" Princess Zelda was ready to plea for the people of Hylia.

"Don't be foolish, woman," Agahnim said. "In all my years here, as chief advisor, there has been no threat of any sort of force invading Hyrule, or Hylia, for that matter." Agahnim stared at Caius as he spoke. "Your idea has been wasteful. The soldiers could be used for more…productive reasons."

"Ahh yes, Agahnim is right! We have spoken of this before in length. The army has been gathered, and will be dispersed, so that they may build new forts and strongholds," said the King.

"Yes, exactly," Agahnim said slowly. He slowly moved his head to look at the King, but stopped for one second when he locked eyes with the Princess. He flicked his tongue out, and winked at her. Nobody else noticed his actions.

Princess Zelda was disgusted, but she remained composed. "You plan on expanding the Kingdom, father? Why wasn't I told about this?" Zelda asked.

"You needn't worry yourself about such matters, Princess," Agahnim said. His words dripped with sarcasm. "You just need to keep up appearances, make the people think the Royal Family still cares about them."

"Wait. We DO care, don't we?" asked the King.

"We do, father," Zelda said.

"The Princess does play a very important role in this, your majesty," Bryant said, breaking his silence. "The Princess will make appearances all throughout the week, starting with Hyrule City." Caius was bothered with everything that was being said.

"Why?" Caius shouted. "The people of Hylia know the Royal Family is supporting them, they don't need to constantly see the Princess to confirm it. They need to see practical support; they need to see our soldiers protecting their houses!" He was turning red with anger. He clenched his fists and rested them on the table, ready to explode.

"Oh _fine_," Agahnim said. "I didn't want to say anything in front of the _lady_, but it must be said, or I'm afraid you just may hurt yourself over there." Zelda put her hand on Caius' arm, trying to make him calm down. She did not like what was happening, but she would not sure her displeasure in front of Agahnim. Caius and Zelda knew that she served very little purpose in the plan Agahnim had hatched, but Zelda only thought it was odd. She had been used to being discluded from her father's recent activities.

Caius was angry because he could not see the true purpose of the plan his King was putting forth. Then finally: "Just who is running this kingdom now, eh? Agahnim, you have not let the King speak, and everything that has been done in this land has been your idea," Caius said, raising his voice. Agahnim simply stared back at him, emotionless. Bryant smiled. The King looked worried: he didn't like the conflict happening at the table. "You have always had an ulterior motive, Agahnim. Don't pretend like none of us see it. Your came here just at the right time, when the people of Hylia were being ravaged by a terrible disease, and you were able to cure it. How convenient. We are grateful, of course. So grateful the good King made you his chief advisor, and it seems now, the _only_ advisor. I'm sorry to say such accusatory statements, but you have been up to no good since the day you arrived!" By then, Caius had stood up, and threw his hand at Agahnim, pointing at him. His face was red; veins were popping out of his neck.

Zelda tried to get Caius to sit back down, but he wouldn't go.

"Caius, I am truly sorry," said the King. "I realize…that I have not included you in such great detail as I have in the past. You all have a say in the decision making process, but ultimately, _I_ have the final say in what happens here." The King spoke sternly, a behaviour Zelda has never seen before. She looked at him with wide, sad eyes. Harkinian slammed his fist down upon the table. "You dare accuse me Agahnim of such treacherous deeds. How dare you. In this land, _I _rule!" He yelled, and Caius backed down.

As her father said these words, Zelda glanced at Agahnim from the corner of her eye. It almost appeared as if he was mouthing the words her father was saying.

Silence fell over the table. Caius has never liked Agahnim; in fact, he despised him since the day he arrived, sixteen years ago. Caius went to sit back down; he no longer had any words left. As he bent down, he fell over, knocking the chair on its side. Impa was immediately at his side, helping him up.

Zelda yelped, as she saw a broken piece of the chair lodged in Caius' forearm. The others simply looked on, the King had an expressionless look on his face and Bryant did not move. The Princess noticed that Agahnim had moved his one hand below the table. A wide grin covered his vile face.

"Are you alright, Caius?" Agahnim asked. Impa helped Caius to his feet; he grimaced in pain when he touched the wooden splinter.

"I am sorry, King," Caius said. "I was wrong to doubt your commitment to the Kingdom."

The King continued to sit emotionless. Nobody but Zelda seemed to notice his blank stare. Suddenly, Caius began to choke and reel over in pain. He coughed violently, and nobody save herself and Impa seemed to care.

"Caius!" Zelda yelled. His face turned completely red, then a shade of purple. "What are you doing?!" she said, looking quickly at Agahnim.

"He seems to have something…caught in his throat," Agahnim said calmly.

Zelda turned her attention, and the two of them tried to help Caius. Impa began to violently hit Caius in the back, and after a long few seconds, he stopped choking. He bent over and spat up a tiny bit, as Zelda rubbed her hand on his back.

"Oh dear!" the King exclaimed. "You should get yourself to the medic, Caius!" Agahnim pulled his hand out from beneath the table, and rested it again on top. Impa began leading Caius out of the room. "And you needn't worry yourself about what you said, we all get angry sometimes!" the King yelled after them. He seemed to have return to his jolly self again.

"I think I've lost my appetite, father," Zelda said. "If you'll excuse me." She pushed her chair in, and walked towards the exit. Harkinian looked a little confused, and sad. He did not try to coerce his daughter to come back.

Zelda arrived in her chambers a few minutes later. She rested herself on the window, looking out and not sure what to think. There was no doubt in her mind that Agahnim was planning something, but everyone was oblivious to it. Caius was not, however, and it almost cost him his life. _We cannot continue to let this happen_, she thought. _But what am I stopping?_ She asked herself. _Agahnim seems to have an ulterior motive, his own purpose, but to what end? My father seems to grant his every wish, like he was being controlled._ Zelda was interrupted by Impa entering the room.

"Will he be alright, Impa?" Zelda asked.

"He will," she replied.

"You see it, don't you?"

Impa stirred for a moment. "I believe I know what you are talking about." Zelda confirmed it. "Agahnim has been influencing your father for many years. I'm sure you have noticed."

"But why haven't others?" Zelda asked. She walked over to a large closet, and opened it up.

"The typical Hylian mind is weak. They can be easily influenced." Zelda picked out some casual clothing, and brought them over to the bed. "But the Royal Family is strong. It is my belief that Agahnim has not been able to fully break your father's mind. He has reached a point, over the past sixteen years though, that he can influence it to a great degree."

"We have never talked about this before, Impa," Zelda said.

Impa remained silent; she quickly moved to the window and drew together the curtains. Zelda begun to remove her clothing, laying it out neatly on the bed. "I didn't want to upset you," Impa finally said.

"For some reason, I'm not as upset as I thought I would be." Zelda finished removing her formal dress, and put on the casual, more comfortable clothing she had picked out.

"You are a strong woman, with a strong mind. You will make an excellent queen one day, and serve your people well."

Zelda smiled shyly. "Thank you," she whispered. "But, I think that something needs to be done. I'm not sure what Agahnim is planning, but it can only get worse as time goes by."

"Do not worry yourself," Impa said. She was quick to reply, and very serious. Zelda raised an eyebrow at Impa, who smiled just a tiny bit.

"Oh no, eh? What is going on, dear nurse-maid?"

"I shall tell you in time. For now, you should only concern yourself with tonight."

As night drew on, the two sat on in Zelda's chamber. Zelda was reading a book on military tactics that Caius recommended to her a week ago, and Impa was staring out the window. She had opened the small panes of glass, letting the cool air come in.

"Do you require some heavier clothing, my lady?" Impa asked.

Zelda looked quickly over at Impa, whose back was turned to her. "No, I should be fine, thank you for asking." Zelda smiled, and continued to read. She stopped quickly after starting, and asked Impa why she had the windows open anyways.

"I'm just awaiting a friend" Impa paused, "and keeping an eye on what is going on in Agahnim's tower." She caught the interest of Zelda, who floated over to the window and peered out.

"That is his tower. What is going on there?" She squinted, as it was fairly far away and the window they were looking at was small. She retrieved a small telescope, and brought it.

Looking through the scope, she could see Agahnim had his back turned to them. He raised his arms, and great flashes of light flooded from the windows on all sides of the tower. Smoke filled the inside of the room, and they couldn't see what was happening.

"Experiments, of some kind, I would say" Impa said. "I've never seen anyone use magic like he does."

Zelda put the scope down, and looked up at Impa. "Do you often spy on that snake?" she asked, with a twist in her smile.

Impa did not look down at Zelda, but she did smile. "You could call it a recurring hobby of mine, I guess." They both chuckled, and continued to stare out the window.

"How much can you see with those eyes, Impa?"

"Farther than I care to see." Zelda stared at her eyes in wonder, imagining the events and history they have witnessed. She rarely blinked, and when she did, it was very quick, almost invisible to the Hylian eye. Impa looked over to the right, and said, "you can't see those two guards atop the west wall, but I can assure you they are there. The fat one is picking his nose."

Zelda laughed; she could not see anything but darkness. She soon retired to the desk she was at, and picked up her book. She then heard a great whooshing sound and with curiosity, she looked back at Impa. Impa was slowly backing from the window, but remained calm.

An owl of great size floated through the window and landed in front of Impa. Zelda stared in awe as the owl adjusted itself by spreading his wings. The owl was about half the height of Impa.

"Zelda, I want you to meet a friend." The owl cocked its head to the side, looking past Impa, directly at Zelda.

"I am greatly honoured to be in your company, princess."


	6. Festival

VI – Festival 

"To kick off the second day of the Coming of Agahnim, I would like to welcome and introduce the Great Lumberjacks!" The mayor stood atop a podium in front of a crowd of Hylians. They were in the town of Kakariko, where many of the performing acts would begin, then head up to Hyrule City, and eventually do a special performance in the Castle for the Royal Family.

The crowd applauded and watched as eight burly lumberjacks took the stage. They ran around with their arms straight down and their palms facing the ground; their leader, titled Head Jack, walked to the podium where the mayor stood. They shook hands, and the Head Jack announced the various feats they would be performing that day. The lumberjacks would partake in various contests against each other, from obstacle courses, to wood chopping, marathons and heavy lifting. It was a favourite event of the Kakarikans, as they were home a large wood-chopping industry.

Link and Marin gazed at each lovingly as the Head Jack spoke.

"I'm glad we chose today to come out," Marin said. "I was worried we would miss this event!"

Link smiled, and said "of course not! We couldn't miss this one for the world!" He grabbed her hand, and started to head out of the crowd. "I was able to get an itinerary of what the lumberjacks are doing today. We have where they will perform and when. But, we have a few hours to kill before they actually do begin their first event."

They walked around the village by themselves, taking in many of the sites. People had come from all over to sell goods, and a number of people had come to perform various acts on the streets. The two lovers stopped to watch many of them, and they soon approached the small midway. The midway had a few rides, but the main attraction was the circus.

"What is that?" Marin asked. She had pointed to a tent that was set up; a great big Goron sat behind a table, and in front of him were what looked like big, black blobs emerging from the ground.

Link looked over at them. "Those are bombflowers, Marin. They grow from the ground, and when you pick them up, they explode like a bomb in about five seconds."

"That's crazy, I've never heard of those before."

"Heh heh, well, they are real! I have seen them in action when I went to Goron City for two weeks last year. They use them to blast through rock." They approached the Goron, who stood up to greet his customers. "May we see a demonstration, sir?"

The Goron responded, but neither Link nor Marin could understand what he was saying.

"Sounds like he only speaks the native Goron tongue." Link turned to the big Goron and asked slowly "do you not speak Hylian?"

Obviously seeing the confusion on Marin's face when he spoke, the goron shook his head from side to side, and said "Hylian" as he did so.

Link tried to motion to the goron to see if he would demonstrate the product. Eventually, the goron seemed to understand. He bent down and grasped the black blob, which was quite solid. It began to shift colours in his hands, changing colours faster as time went by.

He waited three seconds, then through the blob into the air as hard as he could. With the goron's great strength, the blob managed to reach a height of two hundred feet. The three of them watched it fly through the air, and then suddenly it exploded. A great ball of fire in the sky caught the attention of everyone near by. The sound of the plant exploding could be heard throughout the entire village. Black smoke remained in the air where the explosion took place, and was slowly being taken away by the breeze.

"Amazing!" Marin was pleased, but not quite as much as the goron, who bore a grin that spread from ear to ear. He looked back down at the couple, and was quickly overwhelmed by a group of people. He was shocked and worried at first, but he smiled again when he realized that people were eagerly trying to buy the bombflower seeds he was selling.

"It's a great product the Gorons have made, but not very many Hylians have the strength to lift them out of the ground."

"Aye, you are wrong! I have the power to lift a hundred of those things!" It was Osric, who had approached Link and Marin as they were standing at the goron's shop. "How are ye doing, eh?"

"Hello Osric! Good to see you, how are you doing?" Link shook his hand.

"Enh, pretty good, helping out with the fair and everything. Making me massive muscles useful!" Osric grinned as he flexed his arm. "And how is the beautiful maid Marin?"

Marin smiled; "quite excellent, my good man."

"Good, good. I'm glad to run into you two here, I was afraid I may not see thee for quite some time." Osric began walking with the two. "There is a new character at the fair this year, and I think ye need to check it out!"

"Oh, what is it?" Marin asked.

"A fortune teller!"

"Ha! I bet she is charging an arm and a leg to have false fortunes told." Link was sceptical.

"Come on Link, we should go see her! It could be fun, even if it isn't so real, it will be fun," Marin pleaded with Link.

"I cannot resist those eyes," Link said as he chuckled. "Of course we'll go, take us to it, Osric!"

Osric couldn't help but laugh loudly; he led the couple towards the fortune-teller's tent. The tent was very much out of the way. It hugged the northern wall of the village, which was far away from the main activities of the festival. They approached the opening of the tent, and Osric pulled aside one of the flaps.

"This is a little creepy" Marin noted.

"Nothing to be afraid about, lass!" Osric allowed them to enter the tent, and then he went in himself. Inside the tent, nobody wanted to make a sound; they were compelled to take in the musty aroma of the room and stand quietly. Marin held onto Link's arm and moved her body up against his. She looked around, not quite sure what to make of what she saw.

The tent was clinging to an old wooden frame, and hanging off the boards running overhead were various trinkets. The trinkets clanged together as they were touched from the breeze the newcomers brought in with them. On one wall was a great skull, with three horns arising from its top. It had menacingly sharp teeth. On the opposite side of the tent hung a portrait of a dragon. Osric chuckled as he noticed the portrait.

"Is that dragon smoking a pipe?" he asked loudly. The other two did not say anything in response. "What's that stench?!"

Link quickly motioned Osric to be quiet. The three friends stood together, shoulder to shoulder, when they were startled by a voice coming from the middle of the tent.

"Please, sit," said the voice. Their attention was drawn to a figure sitting at a table, behind a small crystal ball. The crystal ball reflected the items in the room.

The hooded figure was very short; the stool it sat on was nearly the height of the table. Osric bumbled over to the first stool he found, on the right side of the table. Link moved carefully towards another stool, and Marin sat down in the middle stool. They all sat across from the tiny figure.

"Care for your fortunes?" the figure asked. The figure's head was hooded, and they could not see the face that was talking to them. The voice seemed much farther away than the figure was located. "Twenty rupees, for all."

The tiny figure lifted an arm, and as it did so, the robe dropped off to reveal a hand. The hand was aged with wrinkles and dirt. Veins could be seen on the top of the hand, and attached to the fingers were long, claw-like nails. The hand slowly moved over the crystal ball, which suddenly turned very black. Nothing was seen reflected in it anymore.

Osric looked over at Link, and then nodded his heads towards the fortune-teller. Link gestured that he didn't know what Osric was telling him, and then reflected the nod back at Osric. Osric shook his head 'no.'

Marin put her hands on Link's arm. "Just pay the teller, Link," she said. Link rolled his eyes, and pulled out his change purse. He shuffled through it for a moment, and then pulled out a red-coloured rupee, setting it on the table next to the crystal ball. The fortune-teller's other hand crawled over the table and enveloped the red rupee. The hand, and the money, disappeared behind the table, lost in the teller's robes.

"Who wishes to be the first?" asked the fortune-teller. They could not determine if the teller was male or female by voice alone. The hood moved, so that they could see that the fortune-teller was looking at Osric.

"Uh, yeah, sure!" Osric said. "What do I do?"

"Give me your hand," the fortune-teller said slowly. Its hand reached out towards Osric, and hovered over the table. Marin shifted her body, as Osric leaned forward and put his hand on the table. The old hand grasped his.

"Ooh, cold!" Osric said.

The fortune-teller's other hand moved overtop the crystal ball. With outstretched fingers, the ball began to change colours.

"What does it say?" Osric asked.

"Be patient!" the fortune-teller practically yelled. The crystal ball swirled with colour, and flooded the dark tent with light. A few moments passed by, then: "I see…waves." Osric smiled. "I see a ship, with sails. On the boat, there you stand."

"That's great!"

"You have a peg leg."

"Huh?" Osric's smile faded, replaced by confusion.

"Your right hand has been replaced by a hook," said the fortune-teller. "That is all I can tell you, I'm sorry." The hand released Osric's, and reached out towards Marin.

Link laughed, as Osric sat back. "Congrats, man, you're gonna be a pirate on the high seas!" Link said, and continued to laugh. Marin slapped his arm and rolled her arms. She leaned forward and gave her hand to the fortune-teller.

Immediately the crystal ball was awashed with a red colour. Then yellow, and orange. The colour changes were happening much quicker than Osric's. The three were only able to see colours in the crystal ball, but the fortune-teller seemed to have the ability to view distinct images.

"There is sadness," the fortune-teller reported. "A great fire will affect your life and your feelings…" she trailed off. Marin looked at her, worried. The crystal ball morphed colours again, this time turning from blue to pink. "Great happiness." Marin asked exactly what it was that was seen. "The miracle of life, my dear." Marin smiled, but the worried look came back again. She asked what happened that caused great sadness. The aged hand let go of Marin's, and she was left answerless.

It was Link's turn; he reluctantly gave his hand up. The ball was alive with movement, showing a wide variety of colours, very rapidly. It then settled upon the colour brown.

"Interesting," said the fortune-teller. It leaned forward, and an old, pointy nose emerged from the darkness of the hood. "I cannot say, for sure."

"What is it?" Link demanded. The fortune-teller was reluctant with words; it started to say something a couple of times, but stumbled over what was being said.

"Your fortune cannot be read."

"Horse-shit! Tell me what you see!" Link leaned forward in anger.

The fortune-teller hesitated, and then finally sputtered out words in a calm manner. "A journey, you will see. A…realization, you will discover. I cannot divulge anymore, I'm sorry." Link's hand was released; the ball changed back to black, and then began showing reflections of the tent as the fortune-teller withdrew its arms. "You must go now."

Link was agitated, but was urged to leave by his friends. "Ah, just like you say, Link, it's all horse-shit anyways. Just some old hag making up stories for amusement," said Osric. He moved out of the tent, pushing Link and Marin along with him.

"That was really bizarre," commented Marin. "Now I see why this place isn't so busy, that fortune-teller is crazy."

"Aye, she is!" Osric claimed. "Just nothing but tales, tales for fun." He looked over at Link, who kept glancing back at the tent as they walked away.

"It was all just an act, honey. She probably does that all the time, just for effect, you know." Marin tried to be comforting, rubbing Link's back. Link remained silent, but accepting of Marin's reasoning.

_Of course,_ thought Link, _all just an act, to get customers riled up._ Link took a deep breath, and calmed himself.

"OH SHIT!" yelled Osric. "I have to get back to the fair!" Osric startled the other two.

"Back to work?" Marin asked.

"Aye, back to work! We spent a lot more time in there than I thought. I'm really sorry, but I have to go. You two have fun, and I'll be sure to see you soon again!" Osric waved, and begun to run away.

Both Link and Marin said goodbye to him quickly, and before they knew it, he was gone from their sight.

Link and Marin had spent the day at the festival, and had watched nearly all of the lumberjack events. They decided to depart and head back to Lon Lon Ranch for the night. The two of them sat atop Link's own horse; Marin held on to Link as they rode slowly through the forest. A smaller horse followed, carrying a bit of supplies and the prizes Link had won for Marin at the fair.

Marin could sense something was wrong with Link. She asked him if anything was on his mind.

"Oh, nothing, I guess," Link said.

"You're lying! I can feel it in you; you can't hide these things from me anymore you know," Marin said playfully. She maintained the appearance of being cheerful, but underneath, she was worried about Link.

"Things have gotten a little weird, tis all." Marin hugged him more tightly, and asked what he meant. "People keep asking me what I want to do, like, in the future. What type of job I want to do for the rest of my life, that sort of thing."

"Do they ask about us?" Marin asked.

"Aye, they do," Link said, smiling. Marin dug her face into Link's back, inhaling his smell.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Link. There is no happier life than I could imagine."

They had been talking slowly, and picking up in pace. Link stopped the horse in front of the main gate of Lon Lon Ranch. The sun had begun to set, and they were in a similar position from the other night. They walked over and stopped underneath the large tree where they had watched the sun go down.

"My heart belongs to you," Link said. He held Marin's hands, and bent forward to kiss her. Marin's face lit up like a candle; the wind blew her long red hair behind her. Link reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small case.

"Oh, Link!" Marin said, gasping.

"I want to be with you." He paused, and opened the case to reveal a ring of great beauty. "This ring…has been passed down throughout my family. I want you to have it, my true love…my soul mate."

"Of course" She said softly, embracing him. They kissed passionately, and Link put the ring on Marin's finger.

Ingo had been notified of their coming, and had gone out to retrieve the horses. He peered around the corner of the gate, and watched the two lovers embrace. He saw what Link had done, and grinding his teeth, he brought the horses back inside the ranch.

"Wake up, you old man!" Ingo yelled. His voice was rough and loud. He had awoken Talon, who had been sleeping in a pile of hay out in the inner yard of the ranch.

"Ho, what's going on?" Talon asked.

"All you do is sleep all day, you worthless piece of trash." Ingo stuck a finger towards Talon, who continued to lay down.

"Enh, what's your problem?"

"I'm done with this, that's my problem! I've had enough of doing all this back-breaking work while you sleep all day and that little bitch goes off gallivanting with that man!"

"Hey now!" Talon was instantly angered, and began to stand up. He was pushed back down quickly.

"Shut up! I'm leaving, going somewhere I'll be more appreciated," snarled Ingo.

Talon did not say anything; in fear Ingo may strike him again. Ingo stomped out towards the gate, and Talon followed him. They opened it up, and Ingo walked away, into the darkness of the night. Talon narrowed his eyes, and locked the gate.

"I should tell my father I'm home," Marin giggled. The two had moved into her bedroom, where they lay on the bed together.

"Ah, no need for that," winked Link. "You can tell him tomorrow morning," he said. Link tickled Marin's sides, making her giggle uncontrollably.

"I suppose you're right!" she said, laughing. "He won't hear us, do you think?"

"Never," Link responded. They lay down on the bed, wrapping each other with their arms and legs. They sat for a long period, not saying anything. The night grew on, and the few candles in the room were reaching their end. There was just enough light for them to see each other.

Marin caressed Link's ear, and let her hand fall on his chest. "This ring is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." They both looked down at it. It seemed to absorb the light of the room. It had a gold band, with a silver plate on top. Embedded in the plate was a blue stone, with many edges and sides. It practically glowed.

"It was my mother's, my uncle told me," Link whispered.

Marin touched his face, "I'm sorry you didn't have a chance to know her." Link's mother was murdered when he was just a small child, not any older than a year. Link had only seen portraits of her in his uncle's cabin.

"She would have liked you, I think." Holding her hand and the ring in his own, Link looked into Marin's eyes.

"She would have been proud, you know." As Marin spoke, she gestured for Link to come closer. He turned his body over and moved himself on top of her. They kissed, as Link propped himself up and ran his fingers along the back of Marin's ear.

"I love you," he whispered, while kissing her. "I will never let anything happen to you."

Marin was wearing a long skirt made of heavy material, with a shirt tucked in and secured by a belt. Link moved his hand to her back, and loosened her shirt by untying the lace that had kept it together. Marin moved to undue his belt, and removed each other's clothing. Link grabbed blindly at a sheet on the bed, and pulled it over top of them.

Only one candle remained lit, and it was sitting beside the bed. Link came up and reached his arm out towards the candle, and pinched the wick with his fingers, extinguishing the flame immediately. He returned his arm, and the two became one, long into the night.


	7. A Secret Passage

VII – A Secret Passage 

"What is your name?" asked Zelda. She was still slightly dumbfounded, as she had never met a talking owl before. Being in the Royal Family, she has been exposed to a wide variety of magics, from all over the land. She had never encountered a talking animal before. Yet, it did not seem all that extraordinary.

"Kaepora Gaebora, is the name madam," the owl said. Kaepora was about half Zelda's height; his wings expanded to cover a distance taller than Impa. After he flew in Zelda's chambers, Kaepora made his way onto a night stand that Impa had moved to the middle of the room. Impa closed the window, and sat herself and Zelda opposite the owl.

Zelda was unsure what to say to the owl. She offered him a drink of water, but he politely declined. Impa had picked up the scrolls that Kaepora had delivered. She read them, oblivious to the other company in the room.

"It took him a long time to make his decision," Kaepora said. Impa nodded slowly as she read the letter.

"Who is that, you are talking about?" Zelda asked.

Kaepora looked down at her doubtfully, "Have you not told the Princess Zelda yet?"

Impa looked up, and shook her head. "It is good news, good for all of us."

Zelda was curious, but did not want the others to know just how much. She eagerly looked at Impa, then back at the owl, who seemed to focus on a spot on the far wall. "Perhaps it is time to tell her."

Impa stood up, and began pacing. "I am sorry to have kept this a secret from you for so long, my lady. But it was for your own protection."

"It has to do with Agahnim?"

"Yes. We were unsure if Agahnim had polluted your mind as he has the others." Zelda looked a little shocked. "I told you earlier not to worry about things, and this is why. I approached Kaepora a long time ago to discuss…Agahnim. I have sworn to protect you, my lady, and that is what we are going to do."

Zelda looked at her with great curiosity. She asked them what they had planned on doing.

"Tomorrow night, a friend will depart their home, and come to the castle, in secret. He will arrive in the afternoon, and hide somewhere, not even Kaepora or I know exactly what he will do, or where he will do it. But he will fulfill a mission for us, a mission that should restore order in this palace."

"You don't mean--?"

"Yes."

"Agahnim will be eliminated?" Impa nodded. "And you trust that this individual can do it, why not do it yourself?"

"He has many friends, and spies. He keeps tabs on us all, save Kaepora here; he knows where we are all the time. I cannot risk any suspicious activity. Besides, I am well trained in protection, not assassination, such as our secret friend."

Zelda accepted the explanation, and thought hard. "In two days, when 'our' friend arrives, I will be parading in Hyrule City." Zelda went to continue, but was interrupted.

"By the time you get back, it will be done."

Link awoke the next morning, with Marin's arm across his chest. Her hand rested on him, the gold of the ring touching his bare skin. He gently picked her arm up, and turned it over so that he could admire the glowing ring.

"It's beautiful," Marin said. She surprised Link by being awake as well. "I should go make some breakfast for us!" She was extremely cheerful, as she always was. She arose out of bed, pushing the covers aside. The sunlight came through the window, filling the room with a yellow glow. Link continued to lie on the bed, and admire the woman he loved.

She walked gracefully over to a dresser, and pulled out some clothing. She looked back and winked at Link as she slipped on an undergarment. He smiled, and rolled over on the bed. Marin then put on a shirt that was laced in the back. Her bosom was pushed up as she tightened the laces in the back of the shirt, and she slipped on a long green dress covered her legs. The shirt and dress were tightened around her waist as she put a belt on.

Marin told him to make himself comfortable, while she went to bathe, and then go downstairs to prepare breakfast.

When Link finally came downstairs after bathing and putting his clothes on, he was approached by Talon, who came at him with wide-open arms. Link was a little reluctant at first, but he quickly saw that the man was just going to give him a hug.

Talon was extremely happy when Marin had come down to him. She showed him the ring, and he was in awe; he rested comfortably knowing that his only daughter had found a man that would take care of her, and love her like no other could.

They all sat down at the table in the kitchen, and enjoyed breakfast. Talon was quick to point out how he knew Link would ask the question soon, but it was all in good fun. Marin eventually told him to stop, as he was making her a bit embarrassed. He complied, and he told them about Ingo quitting. Not to worry though, he told them, he had some people in mind that could replace Ingo quickly.

Marin and Link spent the day together, performing various chores around the ranch. They spent some time riding the horses, and Link listened to Marin sing. But, it wasn't before long after dinner that Link had to go back home, to see his uncle. Link rode out of Lon Lon Ranch, promising to come back very soon.

Link and Aegis sat in front of the fire, enjoying drinks and conversing about their recent activities.

"You know, I've never seen a fortune teller around these parts for years," Aegis commented. "They never lie, but they have a habit of forgetting things, and hiding the truth."

"Well, I think this one took us all for a ride," Link said.

"Nah…just don't let their fortunes agonize you, my boy. You always have the ability to change your future; what they see, and tell you, is but a generalization. Well," his uncle struggled with his words, "I'm not quite sure what they tell, but…the point is, don't sweat the crap they spill. I guess. Or something!" His face broke out into a smile, and the two enjoyed a bit of a laugh.

"I never took you for one to believe in magic, uncle."

Aegis pondered this for a moment, and then said, "There was a time, long ago, that you wouldn't have caught me dead believing in magic. But that was a long time ago. In my travels, I have seen many wondrous things, including those fortune-tellers. Then of course, Agahnim came to Hyrule, not too long ago." He took another sip of his drink, and stared infinitely into the fire. "A great pestilence was ravaging Hylia; they were tough times indeed. Many people died, and then suddenly, Agahnim came out of nowhere. I doubt anyone knows exactly from where, probably out past the Great Sea." Link listened intently, always enjoying his uncle's stories. "And apparently, he practiced a form of magic unrecognized by the wizards here, not that there were very many of them anyways. He solved this world's problems, curing the disease and aiding in relinquishing the famine that had begun to spread throughout."

"A true hero, it would seem," Link said, with a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Aye, a hero, as most would call him. Me, I do not trust that _man_." Link nodded in agreement as Aegis shifted his body restlessly.

"I don't trust that Ingo, either," Link said, moving the conversation forward.

"You have a good eye, Link. I've never liked that character either. He reeks of mischief. Aegis suddenly announced that he should retire to bed.

"Why so early, uncle?"

"I'm just getting tired in my old age, I guess," he said, smiling. "Big day tomorrow, and I need my rest."

"I guess I should get going to bed as well, the past couple of days have been very busy!" Link prepared the house for the night as his uncle disappeared into his bedroom. Looking outside, Link saw distant flashes of lightning. He locked the windows up, and went to bed.

It wasn't long after his uncle had gone to bed, and Link was still awake. Link was awoken due to the storm outside. Rain battered down on the roof of the house and thunder shook the walls. Link peered outside, and was shocked to see a figure on a horse. The figure was covered in shadows; Link's immediate thought was that somebody had broken through the gate and was stealing a horse, but the gate did not appear to be open. A flash of lightning illuminated the yard, and he saw that it was his uncle atop the horse.

_Bizarre_, thought Link. _What's going on?_ Link got up, and watched out the window, to see his uncle open the gate and disappear into the darkness beyond. He went into the main room, and opened his uncle's bedroom door. He confirmed that it was indeed his uncle who had been outside, and not just a figment of his imagination. Unsure what to do, Link went into the main room.

The letter was sitting on his uncle's desk. Link read it carefully over a couple of times. The letter told Link that his uncle would be gone for a number of days, and not to worry. He had to perform an errand for the Royal Family. His uncle warned him to go to Lon Lon Ranch, where he would be safe for a few days.

The idea of sitting around when his uncle had gone on what seemed like a dangerous mission did not sit well with Link. He decided that he had to follow him. He put on a raincoat he had, and went outside. He jumped up onto a horse, and made his way onto the main road outside his house.

His uncle's tracks were easy enough to follow; the rain had made the dirt road quite muddy. A horse's hooves would sink into the mud and leave tracks for a period of time, before they were washed out again. Even if tracks were not immediately visible, Link was confident he could follow them: his uncle taught him well over the years. It would take somebody an entire day to travel to Hyrule from Link's house, but judging from his current speed, Link estimated it would about ten hours. The sun would just be beginning to rise when his uncle arrived at the castle.

Hours passed, and Link's pace kept constant. He had not been able to catch up to his uncle, and Link was beginning to wonder if he was falling farther behind. Fatigue washed over Link, as he had not gotten very much sleep, and the rain wore him down. The storm continued on, seeming to get stronger as time went by. The rain would occasionally be picked up by the wind, sending it flying horizontal. It pierced Link's face and exposed skin, slowing him down.

More hours passed by, and Link was still not out of the forest. He had begun to wonder if he had taken the right path at all. The sun broke through the trees, and it was at that moment that Link realized he had forgotten his sword and shield. He swore under his breath, but he was somewhat relieved to see the rain had stopped. About twelve hours had passed, when Link finally reached the edge of the forest, and the wall of Hyrule Kingdom.

He stepped out, and gazed up at the tall wall that confronted him. The sun blinded him to one side as he looked up, so he decided to continue to follow the now-faint tracks of his uncle. A stream passed up alongside the wall, and broke free of it in places to form very small islands at the wall base. There was not very much open field between the wall and the forest in this area; Link could see no watchtowers in the vicinity.

He paced east, but lost the tracks of his uncle. He then went back west, when it began to rain again. Dark clouds loomed throughout the sky, and dumped rain all over the field. _Dammit_, Link thought. He was ready to give up, when he saw a horse tethered to a tree on the forest line. He recognized the horse as one of his own, and headed towards it. He jumped off his own horse, and saw footsteps in the wet grass heading directly towards the kingdom wall. He followed them as far as he could, until he came to a peculiar boulder.

The boulder was lonely; no other rocks could be seen in the area. Bushes surrounded it, so that it was not visible from afar. Link wondered if one could even see it from above, as it seemed to be covered by a canopy of small trees. The tracks stopped in front of the boulder. He scanned the area, and found freshly dug dirt just below a lip of the rock. Slowly, he put his hands near the lip, and tried pushing the rock forward, and to Link's surprise, it moved with ease.

Link managed to push the rock a good few feet before it was stopped; under the rock was a big, black hole. Link leaned down and tried to peer into the depths below, but it was too dark to see anything. Suddenly, the rock somehow pushed itself back into place.

_Oh, what the hell_, Link thought to himself. He pushed the rock again, and jumped into the hole.

He fell for but a few seconds before he plunged into a pool of cold water. He swam back up to the surface, and felt around for a ledge to grab onto. He pulled himself up, and saw a faint glimmer of light coming from around a corner. Link's fingers felt out the air in front of him, finding a cold, damp stone wall. His fingers led him straight ahead, then eventually around a corner. A torch, attached to the wall, had been lit, providing just enough light for one to wonder through.

_Interesting, _thought Link. _This must be some sort of secret passage to behind the walls. _The hall he was in winded about, with a torch placed every fifty feet or so. As he progressed, the torches grew in number and frequency, providing more light. Link could hear the scurrying sounds of rats on the ground, and of dripping water coming from the ceiling. The occasional bat flew down from the darkness of the ceiling and brushed up against his body.

Fear gripped Link as he stared, unblinking, into the dim hallway in front of him. He paused momentarily, and heard his heart beating. It seemed to echo, and soon, it was the only thing Link could hear. _My sword would make me feel a LOT better, right about now_, Link thought. Coming from around another corner shone a very bright light; Link also heard what he thought were moaning noises. He carefully rounded the corner, and saw lantern lying on the ground. He recognized that it was his uncle's. He rushed forward, and around another bend.

In front of him lay his uncle. His uncle was slouched up against the wall, with a bloody sword in one hand. His shield was on the other side of the hall. His uncle looked up at Link through his bushy eyebrows.

"Link…" he said faintly.

"Uncle!" Link ran over to his uncle and kneeled down beside him. "What's happened?"

"I….you…you must save the Princess…Zelda…" His voice was shaky, and very quiet.

Link moved in closer, and saw that the front of his uncle's shirt was stained with blood. He moved his uncle's arm aside, and saw the wound through the torn shirt. He put his hands on the wound to apply pressure, causing his uncle much pain.

His uncle grabbed his arm with surprising force, "You must go! Go…now."

"No! Who did this? What is going on?" Link's eyes began to tear up. He desperately looked around for something that could help him tend the wound, but there was nothing.

"There is…nothing you can do…my boy," his uncle coughed now as he spoke. He looked slowly up at Link, "Take my sword, and…shield." He groaned in pain. "You must save…her…Zelda is…you're…"

Link embraced his uncle, as his body went limp. He listened to his uncle take his last breath, and watched him close his eyes. He had gone. Link cried uncontrollably for a time, holding his uncle in his arms, and slouched up against the cold, damp stone walls.

Time passed away slowly; Link found himself sitting in silence. The torches around were beginning to dim. He did not know what to do. He bent over, and took his uncle's sword, lifting it up in the air. It was stained with blood. It was also much larger than his own sword, as was the shield. He stood up, and picked the shield up from the ground. A sharp clanging noise was produced as he accidentally hit the sword and shield together.

_I must find…seek out who did this to you, uncle. These crimes will go not go unpunished._ Link looked back from where he came from, and then down the other way, down the hall to where he had not gone. He put the sword in the sheath, then attached it to his back. The attachments for the shield were already in place with the sword sheath; he attached the shield, and then took one step down the hall, in the direction he came from. He looked over his shoulder, and slowly turned his body, facing the unknown path.

He stood tall, with his hands clenched. He wore protecting gloves on his hands. The gloves covered his fingers, hands, wrists and up to his elbows. His green tunic would offer protection from a wide range of elements, including extreme heat and cold. Under the tunic he wore tight, white pants and a shirt. The tunic would go as far down as his shoulders, and almost to his knees. Hanging off his thick, brown belt was a small knife, a change purse and various loops ton carry other items. His boots were made of tough leather; they fit around his feet perfectly to offer him comfort and traction. They climbed up his shins and were secured by a buckle of their own.

He stood there for minutes, staring into the unknown before him. His eyes narrowed, and his eyebrows slanted downward. He peered out of the corner of his eye behind him, and then looked down at his uncle. He swore vengeance. He moved forward one step. Then another. He drew his sword, which made a slicing noise as it was being sharpened. He would venture forth, into the unknown, to seek vengeance, and fulfill his uncle's mission.


	8. A Legacy Lives On

**_VIII – A Legacy Lives On_**

Light from the outside could not penetrate the deep, dark recesses of the cold hallway. Link travelled cautiously, noting every sound and object he saw. He had found his uncle, but not his uncle's purpose. Link would see his great uncle pass away in his very own arms.

Aegis had trained Link well, in the art of fighting, riding, swimming and stealth. Knowing that he tread on dangerous ground, Link is able to reduce the sound his steps make; if someone was close to him, they would not know until it was too late.

As far as he could tell, Link thought he had been walking for over three hours, but he couldn't be sure. The air was stale and stank of dead rats, no natural light came through to give hints of the time, and it was very cold. He breathed slowly as he slid over bones; who knows how long they had rotted there. He figured the hall was zigzagging back and forth, but it was generally heading north-east.

Thoughts of retrieving Aegis' body flashed through his mind, but he could not pay them heed right now. Link was bent on finding his uncle's killer. He also thought of his uncle's original mission, and just what it was. He was instructed to see Princess Zelda, to protect her, but he did not know from what.

Finally, Link came up to an opening. The tunnel widened, and revealed a small pool of water, no more than a foot deep. The sound of a drip crashing into the pool echoed throughout the room. He spotted two wooden columns on either side of the room; atop them laid burnt-out torches. He carried no torch, and had no way of lighting the room.

His fingers ran along the grooves of the wall, until they came across a stone that felt _different_. Visually, the stone could not be inspected, so he tapped on it. Then he tapped the stone sitting beside it. They definitely were different; the odd stone sounded almost hollow. He fingered the edge of the stone, then decided to try pulling it, but nothing happened. He lay his palm on the stone, and pushed it inwards. He was not surprised to see that sunk into the wall.

The stone was a trigger; light flooded the room and blinded Link, as he was accustomed to the dark for so long. Raising an arm over his eyes, he squinted and quickly adjusted his eyes to take in this new light. A door had appeared across the room, and past it, stairs led upwards.

Link was now able to see the horrors of the room; the walls were stained with blood. The water was very clear in the light, revealing a large mess of bones lying on the bottom. He felt sick at the thought of what his fingers had previously touched, and the notion of what this room could have possibly been used as before. He made a line for the new doorway, and made his way slowly up the stairs.

The light came through small holes in the ceiling, located every few feet. The stairwell was long, but it had no light at the end. The slits through which the light snuck in led straight upward. Link made his to the very top of the stairs, but something was blocking it. _Another stone_. He pushed the object in every direction, and it finally slid away with ease.

Link inhaled deeply, remembering the smell of wet vegetation and clean air. He stuck his head out the opening slowly; he was surrounded by short grass, and bushes that covered the stone he had just moved. He scanned the area, and after determining there was no threat of danger, he stepped onto the wet grass. The stone, sensing his exit, slid back into place quickly. To an untrained eye, the stone was just that, it held neither peculiar characteristics nor secrets below.

To three of his compass directions stood a great stone wall. The bricks were packed tightly together, as they shot directly straight into the air. Link became dizzy when he tried to look straight up to see how high the walls went. He recognized these white walls, however: this was Hyrule Castle.

_Amazing_, Link thought. _I have set my eyes on __Hyrule__Castle__ but twice, and there is no denying to what these elegant stones belong to._ There was only one way to go; he sidled up to the corner of the wall, and peered around its edge. A guard in light armour, carrying a spear, patrolled a small area around a tall hedge. The guard had a sword and shield attached to his back. The armour may have looked light, but looks can be deceiving. He was unsure what the material was made of, but Link had heard rumours it could repel the strongest sword strike.

A gut feeling suggested to Link that he had best not approach these guards. Whatever his uncle's mission was, it seemed to involve secrecy, or else why would he go to the trouble of travelling those loathsome tunnels? Link tightened the straps holding his sword and shield in place, so that they would not rattle the slightest when he moved. The moist grass cushioned his footsteps, so that they did not make a noise, even if he lightly jogged across the yard.

Link made a quick dash when the guard was moving away from him. He ended up standing at the very end of the tall hedge, which was wide enough to hide him from the sight of the guard on his way back. Looking around the corner of the other side of the hedge revealed another guard patrolling, back and forth. Neither guard's patrols extended past the length of the hedge. He did the same with the first guard, and slipped to the end of another hedge. Three more long hedges were lined up, each with a single guard between them.

Reaching the end of the row of hedges, Link was faced with a wall. He had no choice but to try and move upwards, on the outside of the last hedge in the row. He snuck a glance around the corner, and saw a guard heading to his position. Link waited, then noticed that the guard was not stopping and turning around. He came ever closer to Link's position. His heartbeat quickened, when he realized that this guard would not be turning back, but would most likely round the corner.

A glance on the other side of the hedge revealed the guard had stopped halfway through his patrol. The guard was taking an opportunity to smoke his pipe; his back was turned to Link. It was his only chance: Link moved in between the hedges, where the smoking guard stood, back turned. He pushed himself up against the last hedge in the row, letting the tiny branches stick into him, and cover his body slightly. The guard rounded the corner, and walked out, taking Link's old path. Link inhaled, and did not breathe, or move. Moving only his eyes, Link alternated between the smoking guard and the other guard, who seemed to be patrolling the out edges of the hedge row.

Both guards had their back turned to Link, but it wouldn't take much for the one to casually turn his head and see Link; the hedges did not conceal him very well. As soon as the guard was out of sight, Link slowly removed himself from the bush, and rounded the corner. He kept an eye on the guard, who was only about ten feet away from him. He slid around the corner, between the castle wall and last hedge. He let out a deep breath, and quickly moved up alongside the hedge.

An opening was beside the wall, on the other enclosing wall of the castle. Link reached the end of the hedge, and made sure they way was clear. He slipped into the opening, and was quickly faced with another problem. He could see similar hedges in this new yard. There were only two, and they were faced farther apart, and were much shorter in length. He could see two guards standing at the ends of each hedge, and assumed there was a similar setup at the other end.

Moving upside along the first hedge, Link thought he was finished. The yard was enclosed almost completely on all sides. There was a door on the east, and an open passageway on the north. Looking around the on bush, he saw the door was keyed, and probably locked, but not that it mattered: the guards were facing that direction. He had to make his way to the other side, past the guards.

He stood silently at the middle of the hedge; slowly turning around, he placed his gloved hands inside the brush. He grabbed hold of some branches, and tested their strength. Inside, the hedges were tightly knit with branches; there was a possibility, he saw, that he could climb them. Link tightened his grip, and pulled himself up. The branches made more noise than he wished, but the guards were not alerted. His feet were secured, and he reached up for more branches. Again, he pulled himself up, and inserted his feet in the bush.

Proceeding very slowly, he finally reached the top of the hedge, about twelve feet high. Long boards ran across the tops of the hedge, connected them. They were supported every few feet by thick beams that were nailed to the boards, and placed firmly in the ground below. Between the hedges looked to be garden of sorts; a wide variety of colourful plants grew, and even more plants hung off the boards above. A thin mesh, lying across the boards, covered the entire garden below. The guards looked outwards.

Link did not idle long; he slowly shuffled his way across the board, hoping that it would support his weight. It did. The board was only a few inches wide, and covered in loose, slippery mesh. He was about half way out when he noticed something; his heart practically stopped.

His shadow was being cast down below into the garden. When he saw that the shadow did not quite fully reach the guard, he eased up a bit, and made his way to the end of the board without alerting the guards. He climbed down the side of the hedge, just as he had made his way up the other side. The opening in the wall was directly in front of him. He briskly walked towards it, feeling confident that he could slip by all the guards if he had to.

Beyond the opening was a long yard, with short castle walls standing on either side. Every few feet the wall grooved in, and a statue stood. The statues varied, and they had small plaques sitting at their base. Deciding not to take the time to look, Link bested his curiosity and moved on. The yard was longer than it looked, but he finally reached an end. The yard took a turn to the left, and around it, was a very large, round area. A small bridge went over the water that hugged the walls of the area, creating a circular island. On the other side of the yard, stone steps moved upwards to a platform that stood overtop the water, and was attached to the castle wall. Three tall windows looked into castle.

Link peered around the corner, into this large area. He noted the flowers lining the water, and felt strangely at peace. He walked out towards the yard slowly, but without sneaking. He stood at the entrance of the yard; the sun shone in brightly, reflecting off the water and the castle walls.

In the very centre of the yard, was a woman with her back turned to Link. She seemed to be playing some kind of instrument; one that Link had never seen before. She had long, beautifully rich and golden hair that fell down to her back. She had elegantly long, beautiful ears that poked out from under her hair. Attached at the base of them, were golden earrings, in the form of the Triforce. She was wearing a golden tiara on her head, but Link could not see the front of it. A long, light pink dress flowed down, covering her body, hugging her every curve. A shirt, deep purple in colour, hung from below thin, golden armoured shoulder pads. The shirt covered only her front, and was tied on by two laces, one around her neck, and the other by a golden belt attached, just above her waist, to another deep purple cloth. On this half-dress that hung down to her feet, were various symbols of the Royal Family, as well as the Triforce, in its entirety. The green eagle of the Royal Family was placed directly below it, and more designs followed it further down, and on either side.

She must have heard Link approach, as she stopped playing her instrument, and turned slowly around. She crossed her arms gently, holding the instrument in her gloved hands. The gloves were pink, to match her full dress, and ran up, past her elbows. Her eyes were big and beautiful; they almost looked sad at first, but her face perked up. She smiled, revealing perfectly white teeth and crinkling her long, elegant nose just a touch. Link couldn't help but to only stand and stare, as the way the sunlight graced her face and fair skin, made him believe he was in the presence of a goddess.

"Hello," she said softly, and slowly began approaching him. "I've been expecting you." She looked deep into Link's eyes. She stopped just a few feet in front of him, and cocking her head to the side a bit, she smiled.

Link opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was stunned by her beauty, and he swore he remembered her from someplace before. He stared at her, looking over her face and down her body. He saw the symbols of the Royal Family, and he instantly knew who the woman was.

Link took one step back, and kneeled down on one knee. He stared down at the ground just in front of him, and drew his sword slowly. He twisted it around in his hand, and grabbed the blade just above the hilt. He pointed the blade at himself, and slowly placed it on the grass in front of him. The hilt of the sword lie just inches from the woman's feet; her dress, blowing in the wind, graced the handle. He continued to bow his head, and touched the ground with his fingers; he sat there, frozen.

"May the Goddesses bless you, sweet Knight," she said. Link remembered this custom that his uncle taught him, though he was not aware of its true use before now. His uncle had ingrained the practice in Link; he did not move, or look up.

The woman crouched down, and picked the sword up. She moved in closer to Link, and slowly replaced the sword in its sheath. She graced his ear as she moved her hands back to her own body. "My name is Princess Zelda, sir Knight; I welcome thee. You may rise," she said.

Link stood up slowly, standing face to face with the Princess. His face was just inches away from her own, but neither moved back. "I thank you, dear Princess. I am honoured to be in your presence," Link said, delivering the line flawlessly. The edges of his mouth curled into a faint smile, as he saw the Princess smiling back at him. "But, my lady, I must ask you: why do you call me Knight?"

The smile disappeared immediately from her face, and she took a step back from Link. The sudden change came as a shock to Link, worrying him. "You _are_ the Knight that we summoned, are you not?" she asked, accusingly.

"I can assure you, Princess, that I am no Knight, if you are referring to the legendary Knights of Hyrule. None has existed in Hyrule for ages." Link paused, then suddenly remembered. "My uncle—"

"You're uncle? The Knight Aegis?" she asked.

"It cannot be…" Link's voice faded, as he struggled with the thoughts.

"You are not Aegis, the last known member in the Knights of Hyrule legacy?"

"My uncle…is a Knight?" It made sense to him now, but new thoughts entered his head rapidly. "So their legacy does live on…we were taught the Knights of Hyrule are only of ancient tales now." He looked up at the Princess, wide-eyed. "I am his nephew, Link."

"You carry the sword of a Knight, although you lack the shield. You presented yourself to me as a Knight, flawlessly." She looked down, and they noticed that the grass was still crushed, showing the outline of the sword.

"My uncle taught me that, and told me it was passed down throughout our family. My father used it, he said, and my uncle had as well. He said…I would know, in my heart, when to greet with it."

"Your father, his name was Ledar?" Link nodded slowly. Princess Zelda smiled, and stepped forward to meet Link again. "Your father was a Knight, one of two left. We, the Royal Family, did not know that he carried on the bloodline, in you. You are, The Knight Link."

Link registered the statement he just heard; it seemed overwhelming, but when he put the pieces together, it seemed to make sense. The sword, the practices, everything that his uncle told him was passed down in his family, were all practices the Knights of Hyrule must have done. His father and uncle were brothers, but something happened to his father. Link asked Zelda if she knew how his father had passed away.

"Unfortunately, I do not. I know that, it happened when I was very young, of an age where memories are not stored." She looked into his eyes again, worried. "What has happened to Aegis?"

Link looked up into Zelda's eyes, and then looked back down at the ground beside him. "He has been slain," he said. Zelda gasped softly, and raised a hand to her mouth. She put her arm on Link's shoulder.

"I'm sorry…"

"I need to find his killer!" Link quickly said, filled with vengeance. He looked at Zelda again, and found he could not hold his anger. "I'm sorry, I just don't know what….to do now."

Zelda comforted him, and led him to the stone steps beside the castle wall. "This is my ocarina, Link," she said. She held up the blue instrument, and drew it closer to her mouth. "My mother told me it has magical powers; that it can speak to the Goddesses." Link continued to stare at her, only partially interested in the instrument. "I was taught this melody; it will protect the soul of your uncle. The Goddesses will look after him in the After World."

She put the instrument to her lips, and began playing. The song was stirring, beautiful and moving. Link looked on as Zelda closed her eyes and played the song. The ocarina appeared to glow softly as she played on; Link's eyes watered up as she hit every note perfectly. Single tears slowly ran down his face, falling off his chin as she played on. He let his face remain wet, as Zelda finished playing, ending the song with a particularly long note. She removed the ocarina, and opened her eyes slowly, to glimpse the instrument return to its normal colour.

"My mother would have played the same thing when your father passed away," she said, looking down at the earth. They sat on the stone steps, knees touching. She looked upward at the sky, "The two brothers are together now. They will be remembered as true Knights of Hyrule, and as loving family."

"Thank you, for that," Link said. He looked up, and saw across the yard another woman approaching.

"That is Impa, my nursemaid and…bodyguard," Zelda said. "The guards outside, the ones you so easily snuck past, could not hold a match against my Impa," she said, smiling.

"I see," Link said. He watched as the tall, muscular woman approached. She did not seem to show any emotion, he noted, and was unsure if he should be afraid or not. "I'm not sure I have ever met a Sheikah before," he said out loud.

Impa cut straight the point, "I am the one who sent your uncle letters, inviting him here." Link's ears perked up. "I am unsure what happened, but things have been changed. You are Knight, and a highly skilled one at that. I saw you sneak in past the guards; they are the elite Royal Guard."

Link sat motionless. "I want to find my uncle's murderer," he calmly said.

"I'm afraid it may be harder than you think," Impa said.

"No! What was my uncle's 'mission'," asked Link.

Impa looked at Zelda now, who nodded at her. She didn't want to divulge any information. "I cannot say his name now, but if you come with me, I will tell you everything."

Link looked over at Zelda, seeking advice. Zelda shifted herself closer to Link. She placed the ocarina down, and removed her gloves. They slid off with ease, then joined the ocarina on the step. She moved her outstretched fingers towards Link's face, and then stopped.

Zelda looked into Link's eyes, and he nodded back at her, giving her permission to proceed. She closed her eyes, and placed her fingers on Link's face. She shifted them about, until she was satisfied of their positions.

Closing his eyes, Link felt a cool wave run over his body. In his mind, memories of his uncle flashed by, then images of Marin. He pictured his home and a life without his uncle there. Images of Agahnim appeared, and frightened him. "Go with Impa, Link. Everything will be well…" he heard Zelda's voice, but kept his eyes shut. More images flashed by.

_Will I ever see you again?_ He thought. "Of course, sir Knight; we will meet again." He could hear her voice again, and sense her smiling. Images flashed by of a beautiful woman, holding a baby. His uncle entered his mind again, but he was much younger. _My mother?_ He asked. "My mother," Zelda echoed, gracing him with still more images, ones that Link did not fully understand. They began to fade, and blackness washed over Link.

He slowly opened his eyes, and saw Zelda, still with her eyes closed. She was smiling; as she put her gloves back on slowly, and cradle the ocarina in her arms. Link stood up, and was led away by Impa. He looked back at Zelda, who swayed back and forth slowly, playing another beautiful melody on the ocarina.


	9. Assassination

IX – Assassination 

Impa led Link out of the castle, and showed him the way to outside the Kingdom walls. He would be able to reach his horse, and setup camp for the night, if he so chose. She did not speak to him much, though, as they took secret paths and forgotten routes out of the castle.

Link was inquisitive about his uncle's mission, but Impa would not tell him exactly what Aegis had set out to do. "He told me, to protect Princess Zelda," Link said.

Impa did not look at him as they continued to walk along, although Link kept his focus on her. "I can provide adequate protection for Zelda; you need not worry yourself."

Link was not satisfied, but he knew he wouldn't be able to squeeze the information he wanted out. "So you're a Sheikah, eh? I thought they were long extinct. According to the legends, of course..."

This brought a wry smile to Impa's face; she glanced down at Link, and said, "And I thought the Knights of Hyrule were all but extinct in this land, as well."

"What's that? A smile!" Link said. He laughed gently, and said, "I'm not so sure Zelda is right, about me being a Knight. That seems so…"

"Unbelievable." Impa cut in.

"Yeah, exactly." Link fidgeted with his belt. "I don't know all the ways, all the customs and techniques of the Knights. We barely learned about them in school. I suppose everything my uncle taught me…like the greeting there that I did for Zelda, and some of special sword techniques, they all belonged to the Knights, right?"

"I have met many Knights," Impa said. "They are all very different, but they all follow the same code. You are no different, I can see it in your eyes." Link looked at her, slightly confused. "You may have heard legends that the Knights of Hyrule were the most elite of the Hyrulian Military, and for a time, that was true. But after the Imprisoning War," she paused, almost as if she was awaiting confirmation from Link, "There were very few Knights left," she finished.

"What did they do?"

"Many went into hiding. Many became guards of the Royal Family. They would be as many as there had before, so they took smaller roles in Hyrule. Many would go undercover, to infiltrate the enemy, and become assassins. Many became spies as well." Link's ears perked up.

"Spies, and assassins, eh?" Impa slowly nodded in agreement. "They worked mainly behind the scenes, right? The Knights would no longer be at the forefront of any army, and indeed, I bet they weren't even included after a while. You're telling me they did the Royal Family's dirty work?"

"You could say that," Impa said. "They have always played an integral role in Hyrule. But obviously, not anymore; many of them went into such hiding that they could not be found anymore. It was my job, about three hundred years ago, to track down all the Knights in Hylia. I found but a few. All the lines have been severed, and your family was the only remaining one. That is how I was able to contact your uncle, and ask him for his help."

Link nodded slowly, ingesting the information. There was much that he did not know about the Knights of Hyrule, and indeed, much of it had been lost throughout the years. In school, they were not taught very much, and it was understood the Knights were extinct; they were now legends, mysterious figures that had served Hyrule long ago.

"Wait a second," Link said. "You're hundreds of years old?" Impa nodded. "Not much is known about your race either, that's for sure." Impa said nothing more.

A short time passed, and they approached a tall wall, one of the boundaries of Hyrule Kingdom. "We are just about there; I trust you can find your way out?"

"Yes," Link said. "It doesn't look too difficult from here." He raised his hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes from the sun. He scanned the horizon, and picked out a path he could take, without being seen by the nearby watchtowers. "My uncle---" Link began to say, but was quickly cut off.

"Will be taken care of," Impa said. "His body will be retrieved, and prepared for burial. I will send the messenger, Kaepora Gaebora, to make further arrangements. Is that satisfactory."

"Yes, of course…" Link trailed off; he looked at the ground, and fidgeted more with his belt. "Perhaps we can all get together sometime again…Zelda, you and me. I want to know more about my heritage, and stuff…"

"Perhaps we can," Impa said. She showed no emotion; she stood frozen, looking down at Link. "Kaepora will contact you; you can send messages with him quickly." She turned around, and began to head off. Link nodded; he wasn't quite satisfied. He turned around slowly, and walked away. A million things ran through his mind, but not a single one would stick for very long. He wondered about his mysterious heritage, his father and uncle, the Knights of Hyrule, his uncle's mission, and what it all meant for Link. _How would my life change_, he asked himself; _would it change at all_, he thought.

Link arrived at the eastern gate, which was preparing to close for the night. The guards let him pass through, unquestioned. Impa had been more concerned that the castle guards would be suspicious of Link, so she hid him until they were far enough away. The outer wall guards had obviously been drinking; they laughed and talked loudly, paying almost no attention to Link. As Link disappeared from site along the moat, he heard the great gate being closed, and the drawbridge being lifted into place.

It did not take very long for him to reach his horse; the two horses were still where he left them. He had used long rope to tie them up, so that they could graze, but not wander very far off. Link had very little urge to ride home that night, in the darkness. It had been a long day. _A terrible day_, he thought. Link found a tent and supplies on his father's horse, and quickly set them up in the dark. He made a very small fire, so as to not draw attention to himself, and mourned his uncle's death; it would be a restless night for him.

The next day, the sun arose and quickly warmed up Hyrule Kingdom. The puddles and wet grass were quickly dried, and by the time Princess Zelda emerged from Hyrule Castle, all signs of yesterday's storm had disappeared. Zelda was in full formal dress in preparation for the day's activities. The week of celebrations was coming to a close, which meant the Royal Family would put on a large parade, and later in the evening, magnificent fireworks. The King would not appear today; he had kicked the week's celebrations on the first day, by giving his annual speech. Zelda was to participate in the annual parade, which was made up of extravagant floats and displays.

Representatives from various Hylian settlements throughout Hylia would come and submit a float for the parade; they began at Hyrule Castle and made their way through to Hyrule City, a short distance away from the castle. After the parade, Zelda would be setup in an area, where she would bless many newborn babies, and greet hundreds of Hylians who would not normally see any of the Royal Family.

Zelda emerged, sitting atop a great white float laced with exotic flowers. The float had hidden wheels, and was pulled by eight horses, all dressed in exquisite, decorative armour. She sat in a golden throne, and waved to the people surrounded the roads on which they travelled. She was admired by everybody in the Kingdom; most would come just for an opportunity to set their eyes upon her, as some would say she carried the essence of the Goddesses within.

The float wasn't without guard, however. The finest soldiers were chosen for the honour of riding with the princess. A great competition is held months before the celebrations, where soldiers would come to compete against one another for position on Zelda's float. Altogether, twenty soldiers stood at the edges, fully armed. More soldiers would walk around the float, ensuring that nobody got too close to it. Impa was nearby, but the public did not know her. She put herself in disguise, and followed Zelda from a safe distance, where she would not be recognized. If anything were to happen that the normal guard could not handle, she would be there instantly at Zelda's side.

The Seven Maidens of the Wise Men also accompanied Zelda; they sat and threw flowers to the people, and greeted them as they went by. The Maidens were thought to be direct descendants of the Seven Wise Men who had sealed Ganon away into the Dark World many thousands of years ago, but it was always an afterthought. Most Hylians believed they were chosen for their stunning beauty, and second their personalities, but never for their heritage. Many of them lived in Hyrule Castle, however, so they must have served some important purpose.

In Hyrule Castle, the great King Harkinian sat in his throne. It was a day for him to relax, as most everyone else in the castle busied themselves with the festivities taking place outside. It was mid-morning, and the King had begun drinking wine as he read various messages and reports that were delivered to him daily. Candles burned throughout the throne room, filling it with a sweet smell, and low lights. The door opened, and a shadow was cast into the throne room; the King recognized the shadow that belonged to Agahnim.

He walked in slowly, and closed the doors behind him carefully. Agahnim wore his usual red robes, hiding his features and face.

"What are you doing here, Agahnim?" the King shouted out. His voice had a hint of agitation in it, but Agahnim continued closer.

"Just to check on you, sir King," Agahnim said. His eyes were slanted, as though he were smiling behind his cloak.

"I'm a little busy, so if you don't mind," the King said, as he raised his arm and motioned at the door.

"I do mind, sir, we have things to discuss."

"What exactly would that be, eh? Perhaps your recent behaviour?" the King asked sharply.

"By what do you mean, good King?" Agahnim had climbed the few stairs that separated the rest of the room and the platform on which the thrones stood.

"You know full well what I mean, Agahnim. I have spoken with the others, and I must agree now with them that you seem to think you have control over this administration. You would be best to remember that I am the one who makes the decisions here."

"Of course, of course…" Agahnim said slowly. "But I am your chief advisor, and it is my job to help you make decisions."

"Help me, yes, suggest ideas, yes, but do not make decisions for me. You have attempted to forego my approval and get things done without me, most recently in the past."

"Just getting ahead of myself, I'm sorry Harkinian."

"Whatever you say, Agahnim. I just think you should take it easy for a while, know what I mean? Go on vacation…take a more passive role in the advisor's meetings."

Agahnim looked at the King suspiciously; he was offended that the King should suggest such a thing. He moved one of his clawed hands out from within his robes, and moved it towards the King.

"Who have you been talking to lately, King?" Agahnim asked.

"What should it matter to you? I have other advisors, and we have agreed to make some changes around here. Or really, _I_ have decided to make some changes around here."

"Oooh, King! Whatever do you mean? You are _demoting_ me?" Agahnim raised his voice as he spoke.

The King looked down at a letter, "I haven't quite decided yet," he said, almost entirely under his breath.

Agahnim raised his arms in the air, and pulled his robes down to show his face. He smiled, and laughed.

"What are you laughing at, your crazy fool?"

"You! Sir King! Oh, you are so wise!" Agahnim's voice dripped with sarcasm. He moved away from the King, and sat in the Queen's throne.

"Get out of that seat!" the King demanded. "I have grown impatient with you, Agahnim!"

"My my, calm down. You seem to have had a change in heart recently." Agahnim rested his head in his hand, and stared into the King's eyes. "Who have you been talking to…why am I so useless now?"

The King was full of rage, and did not respond to Agahnim. He stood up, sticking his chest out, and letting his great red robe flow to the ground.

"You would be best to sit back down…" Agahnim threatened. He raised a hand, and moved it ever so slightly at the King. "You will continue to listen to me; I will be the one who makes decisions around here from now on, just as I have been for so long…" He gazed into the King's eyes.

The King sat back down, and broke the eye contact with Agahnim. Agahnim sat back in the throne, smiling.

"Ahhh, poor King, you are so weak-minded. But a good man, a good man indeed." Agahnim spoke out loud, not directly at the King. "Ever since I came into Hyrule, you have been wrapped around my finger!" He began laughing, and as he did so, he moved up from the throne, and kneeled down beside Harkinian. "What should I do today, I wonder? They say the blood of the Royal Family carries magic, making them strong against people like me. Your blood runs thin, it seems, dear Harkinian."

The King suddenly came out of his blank stare, and looked directly at Agahnim. "You will not be doing anything more here, Agahnim!" Agahnim reeled back in shock. "Your powers are useless now, you see. I have been played a fool, for quite too long." The King stood up; he towered over Agahnim. "I have been blind to it all; to think, you have had me under your control for so long. Not anymore!"

Agahnim was backed down to the steps of the platform; his foot caught the edge, and he nearly slipped off. He lunged forward, throwing his hands against the King, who tumbled backwards onto his throne. He yelled out for guards, but nobody came.

"Maybe a little thicker than I thought," Agahnim said. He slowly approached the King, carefully choosing his steps. The King yelled again, and again, nobody came. "It is no use, Harkinian. Your may be more resistant to my powers now, but most of your men, your best men, are _not_."

Harkinian was stricken by terror; he reeled back in his throne, losing his crown as he hurriedly pushed himself upwards. Agahnim's hand landed on the King's shoulder, pushing him back down onto the throne. "What…have you done?" Harkinian practically whispered.

"Oh, I don't care about what you think, what you want to _decide_ anymore, Harkinian!" Agahnim seemed to grow taller as his voice grew louder. He threw his arms into the air, and smiled wickedly. "This is a sham. We don't need you, or your bullshit _any-more!_" The King followed Agahnim with his eyes as he walked slowly around the throne.

"You're mad; what are you doing?"

Agahnim now stood on the King's right side, laughing. "I have waited a long time for this, Harkinian." He quickly reached into his robes and pulled out a knife. The knife was raised into the air, and thrown down into Harkinian's back. The King screamed violently, and Agahnim laughed.

Harkinian tried to move away, but Agahnim's other hand took his neck, keeping him in place. "You…bastard!" the King yelled. He spat blood as he opened his mouth. He grabbed Agahnim's arm, and with all his strength, moved it off his own neck. As the King stood up, the knife was pulled from his back; he winced in pain and growled, "You'll never get away with…this."

Agahnim laughed, and pushed the King to the ground. He leapt on top of Harkinian, and plunged the knife into his belly. There was only silence, as the King did not scream again. Harkinian threw his fist into Agahnim's face, knocking him backwards; Agahnim did not let go of the knife. As the King got up on his knees, as he tried to stand up again. Agahnim quickly moved behind him, and drove the knife into his back. The King howled in agony, but he still moved forward.

Blood poured from Harkinian's mouth, and his clothes were stained with blood. He touched his wound, and inspected his hand, which was covered with red blood. Agahnim stabbed him again, then again, in the back. The King fell forward; he lay on the ground, bleeding as Agahnim circled around him. He had just enough strength to turn his head, and look at Agahnim.

"It's been a pleasure, rest assured," Agahnim said, flashing a wicked smile down at the King. He grabbed Harkinian's hair, and lifted his head up, exposing his neck. "Farewell." Agahnim quickly slashed the King's throat, spraying blood all over the ground. The head dropped, making a hard _thud_ sound. Blood continued to pour from the King's neck; it ran over the platform, and down the stairs. Agahnim now stood looking down at the King, who lay in a pool of blood. Sitting in the King's throne, Agahnim looked down at the pool of blood advancing towards him. He saw his reflection, and smiled.

Zelda took the baby up into her arms, cuddling it for one moment. She leaned over and kissed it on the forehead; a man dipped his finger in a shallow bowl beside them, and let a single drop fall upon the infant's head. It rolled off, and Zelda carefully handed the baby back to the young woman.

"May the Goddesses bless you, and your child," she said, smiling. The woman thanked her very graciously, and went to make her way out, but Zelda caught her eye. There was a slight hold-up in the line; the woman next in line causing a fuss, and the guards were trying to eject her from the line.

Zelda took the opportunity to speak to the young woman. "How old you are," she asked sweetly.

"Just sixteen, your majesty," the woman said. She tried her best to conceal her excitement over Zelda's questions.

Zelda smiled and asked, "and where is your husband?" She was inquisitive and polite.

The woman's smile turned quickly to a frown, and told Zelda he had been killed by a vicious attacker, somebody who had been trying to steal from their home. Zelda expressed her apologies, feeling sorry for the young woman. She asked the name of the baby girl.

"Elina," the woman said. She attempted to smile, but was still thinking of her husband.

"What a wonderful name," Zelda said. She gazed into the baby's eyes, which looked back and giggled. She looked up at the mom, "Make sure you write to me, and I will make sure that beautiful Elina has everything she needs growing up."

"Oh, thank you so much! I can't thank you enough…" the woman was more than ecstatic; she tried to keep her composure, not wanting to look like a fool in front of the Princess. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she expressed her gratitude; Zelda touched her shoulder, and smiled at her. A nearby guard came over and ushered the young widow away, making room for the next guest.

The next woman came up to Princess Zelda, and they did the same thing. Zelda kissed the baby, blessed it, and she was about to hand the baby back, when a commotion emerged from in front of the stage they were on. The crowd cleared, and five members of the Royal Guard approached the stage. They were all mounted on horses.

The Royal Guard was one of the highest positions a military man could achieve; these specially trained soldiers were protectors of the Royal Family; they were skilled in every form, and would often accompany the King. They were also usually put in charge of many of the King's official business, from making arrests on behalf of the King, to investigating crimes against the King.

They were in full armour; the armour hid their faces, and they were covered from head to toe. Their heavy armour could protect them from most attacks. Three of them marched onto the stage, and stood in front of the Princess Zelda. The lead guard unravelled a scroll, and flipped up his facemask. He began to read: "On behalf of the King, you, Princess Zelda, are being put under arrest for the following reasons:--"

"What is the meaning of this?!" Zelda shouted out. She stood up, with the baby still in her arms.

"Let it be known, the Princess Zelda is under arrest for: treason; conspiracy against the King, and assassination." The guard spoke loudly, enough for everyone to hear.

"What are you talking about, this is preposterous!" Zelda handed the baby off to the man with the water. Immediately, the two Royal Guards flanking her grabbed her arms, and lifted her into the air. They began carrying her off the stage, as she kicked and demanded explanations. The lead guard rolled up the paper, and walked behind the two carrying Zelda.

The crowd went abuzz; it thrived about with confusion at the events they were witnessing. Nobody knew what to do, however; they were shocked. Some people yelled wildly, but nobody dared to approach the Royal Guards, in fear that they would face the wrath of the King himself.

Impa stood on a crate about fifty feet away from the stage, observing the arrest. She could not do anything but watch; the elite Royal Guard outmatched her. As well, she thought she could not risk a fight in such a large crowd where innocents could be hurt.

The two Royal Guards who remained on their horses brought a wagon led by two horses next to the stage. The wagon was a large, flat platform with a large, metal cage on top. The steel bars of the prison on wheels were thick and round. When the prison was stationary, stairs were flipped down and a door was opened. There was enough room inside the cell for the two guards and the Princess, as she was brought inside. As the one guard held her, the other guard chained her ankles to two large, iron hoops attached to the platform. He then bound her arms, so that she could no longer move freely. She struggled, but it was to no avail.

The two guards exited the cell, and locked the door with a large padlock. The crowd looked on, and became quiet when the lead guard began to speak.

"Princess Zelda is under arrest, for conspiracy, treason and assassination." Somebody yelled out, asking who it was. "King Harkinian was assassinated early in the morning by the Princess, and her nurse-maid."

The crowd gasped as they learned their King was now dead.

"Bullshit!" Somebody yelled out from the crowd. Another man stepped forward, with a large rock in hand. He cried out, claming Zelda's innocence, and he threw the rock at one of the guards. The rock landed on the side of the guard who stood on the mobile platform; he almost lost his balance, but was able to quickly regain it.

The Royal Guard closest to the man took two steps forward, and impaled the rock thrower with his sword. The guard pushed the man off his sword, killing him instantly. He flopped to the ground, and the crowd took a collective step back.

"There is evidence that supports this arrest," the lead said. "Princess Zelda will be executed for her crimes in five days." They returned to their horses, and begun to ride off. Still in absolute shock, the crowd parted before them. Princess Zelda looked down at the people from within her cell, seeing the sad and confused faces.

Then, somebody caught her eye. It was the young woman, mother of Elina. She held her baby close to her, tears streaming from her eyes. The woman looked sad, confused and disappointed; Zelda could no longer look at her. She dropped her head, staring down at the chains that held her feet in place. She could not look into the crowd again.

Impa quickly followed the guards, at a safe distance. They did not travel fast: she was able to follow them on foot, ducking in and out of bushes and from behind buildings. They arrived at Hyrule Castle within two hours.

The drawbridge to Hyrule Castle lowered slowly, keeping everyone waiting for it in suspense. The Hyrulian Royal Guard paid no attention to Zelda on their short journey; she pleaded with them, asked them questions, but they completely ignored her. She wasn't even sure if her father had been assassinated or not; the accusations against her were completely false, of course, and there was only one man who she could think of that would have set this up: Agahnim.

The mobile cell moved over the drawbridge, and into the main courtyard of the castle. Every bump and jolt was painful to Zelda; her ankles and wrists were red and sore. She saw Impa in the bushes, following them, every so often. Impa would save her, she thought.

They stopped in the courtyard, and more Royal Guard members joined their party. They were all masked, so that she could not see who her captors really were. She had never seen them out in such full force; they had normally been reserved for very special assignments; very dangerous assignments. Ten guards now surrounded the cell. They spoke to one another, but she could not hear them. Finally, two guards came into her cell and led her down, onto the grass below. The cell disappeared beyond a corner, and everybody remained silent.

She threw her hair back, and looked upwards, looking for Impa. She was not to be found. A guard in full red armour walked towards the group, and stopped in front of Zelda. Two guards were holding her. The red guard took his helmet off and revealed himself.

"Abbott!" Zelda shouted. "What is going on here?" She had known Abbott personally; he was only slightly older than her, and they had practiced archery together. He was one of the King's most trusted men.

"You are to take off the royal apron," Abbott said. Zelda looked down at her dress; the cloth that hung down from her neck, all the way to the bottom of her dress, was the royal apron. It adorned many of the Royal Family symbols, from the Triforce to the green eagle, and the crest of King Harkinian. It was tied around her shoulders, as well as her waist. Abbott came in closer, and untied it, taking it off Zelda. He folded it up, and handed it to a guard, who walked away beyond a corner.

"What is going on, Abbott?"

"You have been arrested for very serious acts, Zelda. I'm afraid you are no longer permitted to wear the markings of the Royal Family, the family you have betrayed."

"This is preposterous! I have done nothing; let me see my father," she demanded. He looked at her, disappointed. She looked in closer at him, into his eyes. "What is wrong with you? You seem so…" She knew at that instant what was happening. It was clear to her just days ago that Agahnim was controlling her father, now, he was able to control the guards as well.

"Bring her to the throne room. It is Agahnim's request." Abbott motioned to the other guards, and they headed towards the castle doors. The guards who had taken the mobile cell away came back with the standard prisoner transport. It was a metal frame, in the general shape of a Hylian, with leather straps that were used to secure the prisoner.

They brought it over to Zelda, who could not struggle against the guards who held her. Shivers ran up and down her spine as she was placed against the cool metal. The leather straps held her against the wheeled, steel frame.

Abbott took the handles of the frame, and pushed it into the castle.

"What evidence could you possibly have against us?" Zelda asked.

"There are letters, detailing the conspiracy," Abbott said. "And Agahnim found Impa's knife in your father." Abbott spoke calmly, without emotion. The approached the throne room doors, and entered inside. Abbott placed Zelda in the centre of the room, and stood beside her. There were no other guards in dimly lit room.

"You may leave now, thank you, Abbott." Agahnim could be seen sitting in the King's Throne; he stood up, and walked down from the platform, approaching Zelda. Abbott turned around quickly, and hastily walked out of the room, closing the doors behind him.

"You!" Zelda shouted, "I knew you were behind this!" She could only look on as Agahnim approached her. He smiled, and began taking long, curious steps. He came face to face with her.

"This is so disappointing, my dear Princess," Agahnim said. His tongue flicked as he spoke. "Who would have thought, you would kill your own father, just so you could take the throne!"

"I would never hurt my father! What have you done to him?"

Agahnim looked back towards the throne, and then peered back at Zelda. "I suppose you can't see that, eh?" He wheeled her closer to the throne, and her eyes lit up with horror. The carpet was stained with blood, and a bloody knife sat on the stairs. Agahnim bent over, and picked it up, inspecting it.

"Little Impa was a little busy, it seems," said Agahnim. He twirled the knife around in his hands, as Zelda looked on in horror.

She spoke quietly, "You're…a monster…" He simply smiled back.

"I found your letters; well, Impa's letters. You've been planning on killing your father for so long now. Disappointed at his recent actions and decisions, you decide to set things straight and kill the poor man." Zelda looked over Agahnim's shoulder in shock. Her face went pale, thinking about the horrors of what happened here, and coming to the realization that her father had been slain. She kept staring at the blood on the floor, wide-eyed, and began trembling. She felt herself going weak, and wanted to fall down, but the restraints kept her in place.

Agahnim continued to speak, but his words were incomprehensible to Zelda. Her mouth quivered, and she began to cry softly. The thought that this was actually happening was too much; it was the subject of a worst nightmare, and she desperately hoped to wake up soon. She opened her mouth to scream, but only the saliva that had built up in her mouth came pouring out. She coughed, and spat as her eyes turned red with tears.

Suddenly, a blow to the face jolted her. Agahnim had come over and whipped the back of his hand across her cheek, cutting it. Blood mixed with tears, and they flowed down her neck. "Shut the hell up, you whore!" But she could not stop. Agahnim leaned in closer, and wrapped his hand around her chin, squeezing it. He tried to make eye contact with her, but her eyes wondered around aimlessly and wildly.

"How _dare_ you conspire against me and think _you_ can get away with it!" Agahnim screamed, tossing spit onto Zelda's face. He wheeled her around and pointed her in the opposite direction. The new view had slightly calming effects, but not very much. "You're lucky we need you, or else I would have killed you by now!" Agahnim stammered about, flipping the knife in his hands. He stopped about twenty feet from Zelda, and turned towards her. He yelled, and threw the knife at her. It whistled by her head, blowing her hair back as it went by.

She tried to pull herself together, the tears stopped flowing, but her face was swollen. He moved in closer, coming again within inches from her face. "Are you done yet?" he asked. He was annoyed, and no longer smiling. "Not too talkative now, eh?" She breathed heavily, and remained mute. "You must tell us, where is Impa?"

"What do you want with her, anyways?" she coughed the words out.

"Ah, she's just a threat; and…I've been wanting to kill her ever since I got here," he said, grinning.

"What do you want with me?" Zelda asked.

Agahnim ran his finger down her cheek, around her chin and down her neck. "You know what I want, dear Zelda. What I've always been looking for all these years…I've just had to wait long enough."

He continued to run his finger along her body; he went around up her shoulder, then down her arm, until he reached her elbow. She struggled, but could do nothing. Agahnim's hand moved slowly across her chest, and he clasped his hand around her breast. She whipped her head back, not being able to look at the beast. He licked his lips, as he squeezed, and brought his face ever closer to hers.

"You have something we want, and we _will_ get it," he said slowly. She inhaled the stench of his breath, bringing on the urge to vomit. She quickly turned her head, and spat in his face. He recoiled immediately, hissed and wiped his face off with the back of his hand. Agahnim marched back up to her and whipped his hand across her face, creating another cut about an inch long, just below the first one.

The door at the end of the room flew open, and Abbott walked briskly in. He stopped in his tracks when he saw how close the two were together. "The interrogation," he paused, "How is it going?"

Agahnim looked back at Zelda, growled, and then walked towards Abbott. "Put her in the dungeon, NOW!" he screamed. The beast left the room, and Abbott rolled Zelda far down into the dungeons.

They had gone down three levels, to where it was dark, damp and cold. He lit torches in the hall, and rolled Zelda into her cell. She had been looking on without focus, and remaining silent until now. Abbott turned to leave. "Could you please, untie me from this horrible device?" she asked politely from him.

"Of course, Princess Zelda. Anything you want," he said, with a hint of his true self, breaking through the spell. He undid her bonds, allowing her to step off the device. She whispered a thank you to him, and he turned, leaving the cell and locking it with a large key.

Zelda curled herself into a ball, and sat in a corner of the cell, on top of some hay. The place reeked of waste, and was very cold. She could not tell what time it was, as the torches slowly burnt out. She closed her eyes, and began concentrating very hard.

_Please hear me Link_…_I'm in the dungeon of the castle…please help…_


	10. Infiltration

X – Infiltration 

Impa had followed Zelda until they reached the main gate of Hyrule Castle. The castle swarmed of guards, and she would not be able to enter without being seen. She hung back in the bushes and trees, masking herself from detection. The drawbridge was lowered when Zelda approached it, and quickly raised again after she disappeared into the main courtyard.

She perked her ears up, and was able to listen to the guards talking, but nothing useful was picked up. Abbott's voice was recognized: he was one of the King's most trusted Royal Guards, and for him to act against the Princess meant something horrible must have gone down. Impa heard the guards escorting her inside the castle, and all was quiet again.

Looking around, Impa saw nobody, nor heard anybody. The castle seemed deserted, another indication something was wrong. The army had left in the past two days, to supposedly help colonize Hyrule, a plan of which Impa was always sceptical. She had always suspected Agahnim of controlling the King to do his bidding, and it now appeared that Harkinian had lost his usefulness. She may be the only one remaining who could foil Agahnim's plans, whatever those may be.

There was never any doubt within her mind: Impa decided she first had to rescue Princess Zelda, but she was unsure how. Many secret passages led into Hyrule Castle, but none would provide direct access to the dungeons deep below the ground, where Zelda was most assuredly being held.

Feeling completely safe and competent, Impa jogged down the dirt road that headed towards Hyrule Market. It was there she would gather supplies that she could use to infiltrate the castle and rescue the Princess. Hiding out in an inn after collecting various goods and weapons from merchants, she headed out of the town in the middle of the night.

Impa emerged from a small hole cut into the stone wall. She was inside Hyrule Castle now, taking one of many different secret passages she had learned of over the years. Her flexible armour allowed her to slither through the dark tunnel, which did not take long. Pushing a large box out of the way of the hole, she pushed herself out of tunnel and stood up in a dark room.

The darkness concealed the purpose of the room; she could not see anything that gave any indication of where she was. Impa advanced slowly in the room, absorbing as much detail as she could. The Sheikahs had great vision in the night, but it wasn't perfect.

Holding onto the knife hanging from her waist, she found the door, and slowly opened it up to reveal a large, well lit hallway. Two guards were leaving the hall at the far end, but Impa ran out of patience: she closed the door from behind and quietly walked down to the opposite end of the hall. The guards were not alerted. The next room revealed to her that she was on the western side of the castle, far away from any access to the eastern basement levels. The western basement levels were used mainly for storage of goods.

In the large room past the door, stood two lightly armoured guards; they did not notice the door open, or see Impa cling to the walls. A balcony lined one side of the room, and numerous doors branched off on both levels. Able to secure a grip in the stone wall, Impa slowly scaled it, and pulled herself up to the balcony.

She strafed across the balcony, keeping an eye on the guards down below. No sound was made as she dropped to the lower level of the room, and headed towards the door. Suddenly, she heard somebody yell, "Halt!"

A guard had emerged from a door beneath the balcony, and could see Impa in plain site. This alerted the other two original guards, who immediately started running to her position. She turned, and assessed the two oncoming attackers. The third guard who had originally seen her already disappeared, most likely to alert the others about her presence.

The first guard, she saw, was carrying a bow and was setting up a shot. The other drew a large sword, requiring both his hands to hold. Impa cart wheeled to her right as the first arrow narrowly hit her in the shoulder. The arrow slammed into the wooden door behind her. She rolled behind a large flower vase, which was struck by another arrow. Another arrow hit the vase, and at that moment, Impa ran out towards the guard holding the sword.

He was unprepared by her amazing speed, and swung his sword in a wide arc that missed Impa by feet. She continued running, and kicked the swordsman over, then rolled again to avoid another arrow. She came out of the roll running, and ran a half-circle around the archer, who had another arrow notched already. Impa continued to run in a circle around the archer, but then suddenly stopped in her tracks, and turned the opposite direction. Anticipating Impa's old course, the archer wasted an arrow on air.

Impa took the opportunity and ran straight for the archer with her long knife extended. The archer fumbled with another arrow, and dropped it. He was bent over slightly when the knife plunged into the front of his neck, and was torn open as she pushed it towards his back. She withdrew the knife and rolled, avoiding the spray of blood and agonizing scream of the guard.

The other guard was quick to attack: he ran over and sliced his sword downwards, but missed the rolling Impa. She stopped rolling, and slowly stood up as the guard lifted his sword again for another attack. Quickly, she kicked her foot out, connected the solider in the chin and sending him reeling backwards. She stood over him, waiting for him to stand up. When he did, she violently kicked him in the face, shattering his jaw and ejecting broken teeth from his bloody mouth.

Quickly, Impa dashed to the dead archer's body and took up his bow and quiver full of arrows. She set an arrow, and aimed for the swordsman, who struggled on the floor to regain his sword. The arrow flew through the air, and skewed the guard's neck, killing him instantly.

A large door behind Impa burst open, revealing three more archers. Arrows flew through the air, missing her as she dashed quickly to the northern door. She stopped to throw open the door, and was caught in the shoulder by an arrow; her armour deflected it, but the force of the blow was enough to spin her around slightly. She opened the door, and ducked behind it, hearing two more arrows slam into the wood in front of her.

She had begun running down the hall when three swordsmen entered and stood before her. She looked at the door to their right, and determined she could not make it by them to either sets of doors. She quickly sent an arrow flying down the hallway, but the lead guard blocked it with his shield. On the right of the hallway, she noticed three windows, and saw broken glass on the floor between her and the guards.

The two groups of guards stood before and behind her; she made way for the windows. Impa was close, when the group of swordsmen were upon her. Contorting her body, she was able to avoid the attempts; the guards were fairly well armoured, and she could not get close enough to physically hit them. The archers behind her did not fire in fear they would hit their own. She backed off, and walked backwards towards the archers.

Aligning themselves in a row, the swordsmen advanced on her quickly. The two outer swordsmen dashed forward and slashed their swords downwards, but Impa was already in the air. She leapt forward with all her strength, and landed both feet on the shoulders of the soldier in the middle. She easily dwarfed his height. Pushing downwards, Impa lifted herself into the air, performing a back flip while she readied another arrow. The guard fell down, and the other two stood gawking. She landed with her feet apart, and an arrow aimed at the guard on her right. She let the arrow fly, and it flew directly through the guard's face, only being stopped by the helmet covering the back of his head.

Still alive, the soldier stumbled about for a minute, giving Impa just enough time to use his body. She jumped up onto him, landing a foot on his knee, then another on his chest. She landed the third foot on his shoulder, and propelled herself towards the window on the wall. She readied another arrow as she ran, and had it ready as she rolled forward in the air. She twisted her torso around, and while flying upside down, shot the arrow into the bewildered swordsman behind her. The arrow entered his neck, and he dropped to the ground.

Impa twisted in the air quickly, tucking her legs in and smashing through the window and clearing the water beside the wall. She landed upright on her feet, her back facing the wall. The sound of arrows hitting the inside wall echoed outside.

From inside, the archers could not see into the yard out the window. They cautiously approached the window, not knowing what to expect. All they saw was darkness, then, an arrow gliding through the air and killing one of them. Another arrow, and another, but they both missed. The archers fled in terror and at that moment, the blaring horn of the alarm was heard throughout the castle.

Seeing that the soldiers left, and the guard she used to back flip off was unconscious, Impa entered back into the hallway, and made her way to her original destination. Unfortunately, she did set the alarm off, which meant most of the guards in the castle would be upon her, but she felt confident in knowing she had the skills to fight them off (in moderation) and that they seemed to lack their usual group strategies. They were being controlled by Agahnim, she thought, which seemed to erase much of their tactical knowledge. Unfortunately, she did not know how many there were, but was hoping that they were few in number.

She kicked open the doors at the end of the hallway, and strut in confidently. Five guards with swords approached her quickly. Impa sent two arrows flying across the room, killing two of the soldiers quickly, but her quiver was now empty. Dodging the oncoming swords, she flipped, rolled and twisted her way through the remaining guards and was able to pick up one of the long swords of a fallen soldier.

Impa used the sword defensively, fighting off the aggressive swordsmen. She handled the sword elegantly; able to twist it around her body, blocking incoming blows and pushing them back, giving her enough time to smoothly flow into the next block. But she was unable to lash out at them, and impatience overcame her.

In unison, the guards backed off by hopping a couple of steps back. She heard the _twip_ of an arrow being unleashed, and felt searing pain as an arrow entered through the back of her outstretched hand. The arrow stuck through her hand, and the soldiers laughed.

_Guess I was wrong about their organization_¸ she thought, still remaining completely emotionless. She looked down at her hand, analyzing both sides of it. She raised her hand, showing the soldiers that the arrow stuck out of her hand on either side. They assumed victory, and did not attack. She peered up at the archer who had pierced her; he sat atop a balcony, hidden from immediate vision.

Resting the sword between her legs, Impa grabbed the shaft of the arrow closest to the arrowhead, and begun pulling it through her hand, completing the arrow's path. The swordsmen looked on in disgust and horror, as she gritted her teeth as she gave the final yank on the arrow. She now held it in her other hand, and smiled.

The guards, confused, looked on as she tossed the arrow in the direction of the archer above. They followed the path of the arrow as it fell helplessly on the ground below. One of the guards, laughing, looked over at Impa; he went pale as he saw her rushing towards him, screaming.

The sword came down with a mighty force, connecting just below the soldier's helmet. Impa followed through, sending the head rotating through the air and the body fall limp to the ground. Twirling around, she thrust the sword through the armour of the second guard, straight through his chest. He looked down, and dropped his sword; blood ran out of his mouth. With all her force, Impa lifted the soldier up into the air, overtop her head and down behind her. An arrow aimed for her back plunged into the impaled soldier's back instead.

Taking hold of the sword with both hands, and the soldier being held upside down, Impa twirled him around once, then twice. On the third rotation, she stopped and let the body slide off the sword, sending it hurtling towards the third swordsman. The body caught him by the legs, sending him falling on his face. Impa took no time to leap forward and bury her sword in the back of the soldier's head. She withdrew the sword, and wiped the sprayed blood from her brow.

Impa casually cruised up the stairs to the balcony, where she found the archer standing, bow arched and arrow pointing straight at her head. She looked past the arrow, which hovered but feet from her face, and saw the quiver on his back was empty.

"Last one, soldier," she said calmly. "Feeling lucky?"

The soldier grimaced, and said, "Agahnim can not be defeated so easily!" His hands remained still, holding the arrow in place.

Impa looked into his open, fearless eyes. "I once knew you, the soldier you used to be," she slowly said.

"That soldier is but long dead," he said, menacingly.

"Indeed," Impa said. She jerked her head to the side, avoiding the shot arrow and drove her sword into his gut. He spat blood up, gurgling as she withdrew the sword, and fell to the ground, dead.

Impa looked down at her wounded hand, and raised it into the air. Blood dripped out of the hole, and spiralled down her arm. Unlocking a small pouch attached to her belt, she pulled out a strip of cloth, and wrapped it around her hand, wincing in pain as she tightened it. She bit the cloth, cutting it when she had enough, and then secured it in place with small metal pins.

She jaunted down the stairs, just noticing that this was a dining hall. Going through another set of doors, she came upon a hallway, and headed towards a locked door. Fiddling with it for a moment, she grew quite impatient, and slammed the door once, then twice with her foot. Then she raised the sword, and struck the knob with the hilt. It took three solid blows, but the knob came loose, allowing her to kick the door open.

The throne room was bright from the many torches that were burning on the walls. Impa slowly walked in, noticing a number of guards – seven, to be exact – that stood in formation in the centre of the room. Lining the sides of the room were seven large, transparent diamonds, hovering many feet off the ground. Upon closer inspection, Impa could see the Seven Maidens of the Wise Men, each trapped inside their own diamond. They looked serene, but she could not tell if they were alive or dead.

"Impa, my dear!" a voice yelled out. Impa stood in the centre of the red carpet that led up to the platform where the thrones sat. To her complete lack of surprise, she saw Agahnim sitting in the King's throne. "We've been waiting for you; where have you been?"

Impa stared back at Agahnim, biting her tongue.

"Speechless, eh?" Agahnim rose up from the throne, and walked down the steps. "Well, can't say I blame you. It's been a tumultuous couple of days, lots of stuff happening, you know."

"What have you done here?" Impa demanded.

"What, this?" Agahnim asked, as he motioned at the hovering maidens. He smiled, "It's nothing personal, of course, we just need to use them for a bit." Impa continued to say nothing as she eyed the guards on either side of her. "Don't feel like talking much, eh? Well, I don't need to explain it to you, you know the legend. But I do have a proposal for you."

"No, Agahnim, I have one for you," she said. "I can kill you quickly, or slowly." He laughed, and turned around, heading back to the throne.

"You're an excellent fighter. I felt you kill a lot of my men out there," he said as he sat down. "Now if you'll only let me into that beautiful Sheikan mind of yours…I won't have to destroy you."

"Never," she whispered, but Agahnim could still hear her. He lowered his head, and motioned at the guards, who sprung into action at his command.

Again Impa was confronted with fighting numerous enemies at once, but she took a more aggressive course of action this time. She ran and leapt, targeting her next victim and brushing off the others; it seemed they only attacked one at a time, almost taking turns, but Impa was unsure. She was drenched in blood, as dead bodies lay around her in a circle formation. Only two guards remained, when she saw Agahnim fleeing from the throne room. He _floated_ overtop the action, and lowered himself as he came to a set of doors. He motioned his arms, and the doors flew open, revealing a staircase going upwards. He was about to step onto the first step, when he hesitated, and cocked his head to the side as if he heard something.

Impa tried to reach him, but was too busy with the two remaining guards. She slashed down and up, taking the first guard's leg at the knee. He fell over and screamed in pain when he realized half his leg was gone. He swung his sword wildly, but was ignored.

She was fighting the last guard, but was unable to defeat him quickly. She recognized him, but could not place his name. He was close to the Royal Family, and was perhaps the most skilled Royal Guard the King employed. They were evenly matched, but Impa wore him down; she raised her sword into the air, ready to deliver the final blow.

At that moment, she felt the cold touch of steel pierce her back, and saw blood spray up from below, as the giant arrow exploded through her abdomen. Blood splattered her chin, and covered her opponent from head to toe as he stepped back, staring at the emerged missile.

The sharp, steel arrowhead dripped with blood and flesh, sticking out from her body. The shaft of the arrow was about three feet in length, and stuck out her back. The projectile was about an inch in diameter, and made from solid oak.

Two guards stood at the door Impa entered from, loading up another missile in the scaled down ballista that the King had assembled. They awaited Agahnim's command as Impa stumbled about in complete shock. She coughed up blood, and her eyes glazed over as she dropped the sword, and fell to her knees. She held herself up, but quickly lost strength and fell onto her side.

Agahnim walked over to her limp body, smiling and laughing. He patted the soldier on the back, and resumed his position on the King's throne.


End file.
